Westbury - engineering works from 24th December 2024 for 30 days

[whole diary]

[Timmer]

From the front page of White Horse News:

https://whitehorsenews.co.uk/westbury-railway-station-to-close-from-christmas-until-late-january/

Westbury Railway Station will be closed, with no trains running through the station, after the end of service on Christmas Eve until 24th January 2025. Network Rail says that the closure is necessary for essential work to upgrade the track and signalling improvements. 

The closure is expected to significantly affect commuters, students travelling to schools in neighbouring towns and leisure passengers who rely on the railway.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are planning a significant investment to renew track and upgrade signalling at Westbury to improve reliability for passengers for years to come. 

“The work is due to take place around the clock just outside Westbury station from late on Christmas Eve until the early hours of Friday 24th January.     

“As this essential upgrade can only be done while trains aren’t running, the line through Westbury will be temporarily closed. 

“We are working with our colleagues at GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) to make sure passengers are kept on the move, with trains via Westbury set to be diverted or replaced by buses.   

“We appreciate people living close to the railway will be keen to know more and we’ll write to residents with further details closer to the time.” 

 Preparatory work affecting services is planned for Sunday 10th November and Sunday 15th December, with follow-up work over the weekends of 1st to 2nd February and 8th to 9th March. 

During the rail closure, repairs will also be made to a viaduct between Warminster and Salisbury. All passengers are advised to plan ahead and check before travelling. 

“The railways have a backlog of maintenance to catch up on,” explains Graham Ellis, a director of TravelWatch SouthWest, “and with modern safety standards for workers and budget constraints, this means that no trains can be run while lines are being renewed, which now takes place during the day as well as at night, and during the week as well as at weekends. 

“At Westbury over the new year, the major work involves the replacement of pointwork that is unreliable and once the new pointwork is bedded in, this should result in less disruption to services which now use the three platforms at the station to capacity, and sometimes beyond. Current Network Rail studies suggest that there is an operational need to reinstate the fourth platform at the station.” 

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

A railway station is set to close for a month while major engineering works take place.

Network Rail said there will be no trains running through Westbury Railway Station, Wiltshire, from 27 December until 23 January, 2025.

“Track upgrades” will be carried out near the station, as well as maintenance of the Sherrington viaduct. Trains will be diverted between Trowbridge and Frome, or replaced by buses.

Network Rail's western route director Marcus Jones said: “Our festive upgrades are crucial to ensuring the railway continues to run reliably and safely."

All Great Western Railway and South Western Railway services to, from, and via Westbury station will be affected by the closures.

Mr Jones added: “Continued investment into upgrading and improving the railway is evidence of our commitment to providing a railway fit for the 21st century.

“We appreciate there is never a good time to disrupt journeys but whenever possible we do this at times when fewer people are travelling, such as at Christmas, on bank holidays or at weekends.

“We thank passengers in advance for their patience and urge them to please check before they travel.”

[grahame]

From the front page of White Horse News:

https://whitehorsenews.co.uk/westbury-railway-station-to-close-from-christmas-until-late-january/

[snip]

“The railways have a backlog of maintenance to catch up on,” explains Graham Ellis, a director of TravelWatch SouthWest, “and with modern safety standards for workers and budget constraints, this means that no trains can be run while lines are being renewed, which now takes place during the day as well as at night, and during the week as well as at weekends. 

“At Westbury over the new year, the major work involves the replacement of pointwork that is unreliable and once the new pointwork is bedded in, this should result in less disruption to services which now use the three platforms at the station to capacity, and sometimes beyond. Current Network Rail studies suggest that there is an operational need to reinstate the fourth platform at the station.” 

I am getting flack over that ... "Instead of Travel Watch SW being an unbiased observer you appear to be acting as an apologist for Network Rail's disregard for passengers"

Oops ...

[Timmer]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Network Rail's western route director Marcus Jones said: “Our festive upgrades are crucial to ensuring the railway continues to run reliably and safely."

All Great Western Railway and South Western Railway services to, from, and via Westbury station will be affected by the closures.

“We appreciate there is never a good time to disrupt journeys but whenever possible we do this at times when fewer people are travelling, such as at Christmas, on bank holidays or at weekends.

I don’t call closing the railway and Westbury station for the period a month as being “festive”. Many people will be back at work/school/college week commencing the 6th of January.

If there was a ‘new’ platform that really would make a difference to congestion at the station maybe people might think it’s worth it.

[TaplowGreen]

From the front page of White Horse News:

https://whitehorsenews.co.uk/westbury-railway-station-to-close-from-christmas-until-late-january/

[snip]

“The railways have a backlog of maintenance to catch up on,” explains Graham Ellis, a director of TravelWatch SouthWest, “and with modern safety standards for workers and budget constraints, this means that no trains can be run while lines are being renewed, which now takes place during the day as well as at night, and during the week as well as at weekends. 

“At Westbury over the new year, the major work involves the replacement of pointwork that is unreliable and once the new pointwork is bedded in, this should result in less disruption to services which now use the three platforms at the station to capacity, and sometimes beyond. Current Network Rail studies suggest that there is an operational need to reinstate the fourth platform at the station.” 

I am getting flack over that ... "Instead of Travel Watch SW being an unbiased observer you appear to be acting as an apologist for Network Rail's disregard for passengers"

Oops ...

Outrageous.

I believe the correct procedure to follow is to find out who this despicable person's employer is, and write to them demanding his (or her!) dismissal! 

[grahame]

From the front page of White Horse News:
https://whitehorsenews.co.uk/westbury-railway-station-to-close-from-christmas-until-late-january/

I am getting flack over that ... "Instead of Travel Watch SW being an unbiased observer you appear to be acting as an apologist for Network Rail's disregard for passengers"

Oops ...

Outrageous.

I believe the correct procedure to follow is to find out who this despicable person's employer is, and write to them demanding his (or her!) dismissal! 

I have unanswered questions about the stoppage at Westbury

* Why does it take so long to replace 30 point ends and do it in such a way that it requires the complete closure of the station for 30 days?

* Why is the opportunity not being taken to add pointwork (and perhaps more) for a track alongside the fourth platform or extending the platform out to the track already there?

* Why is the entire service (bar one a day) on the line all the way to Swindon being replaced by buses when the line remains open and available?

* Why is the bus from Melksham to Bath not included in the "you may use your rail ticket" list when that direction accounts for the 3rd and 5th most used traffic flows from Melksham, and other services by that operator ARE included?

But is there any point in asking those questions and would doing so in public simply alienate the people we must talk to in the rail industry who we (as passengers) need to partner with at times that they ARE operating and indeed should be looking to persuade to provide better tuned for us through the other 335 days of the year?

My published comment / explanation in the White Horse News did NOT address the above; it does not mean I don't have those questions nor that I think that the decision to shut down for a month is right, but it is up to the newspaper's editorial team to decide what submissions from me and from other sources they chose to include in their newspaper.  And it is up to me to tune what I submit to ensure that the key messages and explanations in a very few words have the best chance of being published.

P.S. I can make a highly educated guess at the answers to some of my questions - so please don't take it that I've ignored some knowledge I have in even asking them here! ...

[ChrisB]

* Why is the bus from Melksham to Bath not included in the "you may use your rail ticket" list when that direction accounts for the 3rd and 5th most used traffic flows from Melksham, and other services by that operator ARE included?

But is there any point in asking those questions and would doing so in public simply alienate the people we must talk to in the rail industry who we (as passengers) need to partner with at times that they ARE operating and indeed should be looking to persuade to provide better tuned for us through the other 335 days of the year?

Depends on how & who you ask 
Andy McRae who presented for GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) along with Dan Okey looks after HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) Engineering Work long-term plan, so I asked him (while writing about those HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) works) whether he could shed any light for you, and he responded

Regarding the Westbury block, I can tell you we’re trying to secure ticket acceptance on the 271, 272 and 273 between Melksham and Bath, so I assume they’re the ones you’re referring to.

Once they’re confirmed we’ll advertise them through the normal channels.

[grahame]

* Why ...

But is there any point in asking those questions and would doing so in public simply alienate the people we must talk to in the rail industry who we (as passengers) need to partner with at times that they ARE operating and indeed should be looking to persuade to provide better tuned for us through the other 335 days of the year?

Depends on how & who you ask 

Indeed - When told "no" I had not accepted that as the final answer and indeed my line of query like yours was back to the managers who set the rules and I suspect I'll have answers on 2 of the 4 points - sadly providing a positive on only one (and the least important) and an [explanation/excuse] on the second.

It is indeed who you ask ... and I suspect who you are too.  Your weighted added to mine is helpful, thanks, ChrisB - and it's helping that there is some passenger considered tuning being added, belatedly.  Pointing out the logic of the benefits helps too once someone listens.

[Timmer]

I have another ‘why’.

Why did GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) agree to such a long closure?

Did they have a choice?

[froome]

Trains will still operate between:

Cardiff Central and Trowbridge
Salisbury and Portsmouth Harbour
Frome and Weymouth

A few trains will be diverted via an alternative route between Trowbridge and Frome – not stopping at Westbury.

Does this mean that there will be Bristol to Weymouth services running, using an alternative route between Towbridge and Frome, or that there won't be, but a few trains will also run using this diversionary route? (and if so, what trains are these?).

If so, can we use the Bristol to Weymouth services to change at Dorchester/Upwey/Weymouth to then travel on towards Southampton? It would seem sensible to me to allow this route to be available at the same ticket price, which it certainly isn't at the moment, and which would take some of the pressure off the rail replacement buses.

I (and a number of others) will be travelling from Bristol and Bath to Lymington during this period and being able to use the alternative route at the same ticket price would be attractive to me (I would much prefer a longer train journey than having to use a replacement bus).

[grahame]

Does this mean that there will be Bristol to Weymouth services running, using an alternative route between Towbridge and Frome, or that there won't be, but a few trains will also run using this diversionary route? (and if so, what trains are these?).

Monday to Friday, at 07:06 and 08:07 to Trowbridge, arriving back at 18:32.   The morning trains carry on to Bristol and the afternoon train starts from Swindon and is the only train of the day from there to Melksham. It will use the north to east avoiding curve to avoid Westbury, reversing on the main line.   I have just looked this up - my sample date on Real Time Trains being 9th January

If so, can we use the Bristol to Weymouth services to change at Dorchester/Upwey/Weymouth to then travel on towards Southampton? It would seem sensible to me to allow this route to be available at the same ticket price, which it certainly isn't at the moment, and which would take some of the pressure off the rail replacement buses.

I (and a number of others) will be travelling from Bristol and Bath to Lymington during this period and being able to use the alternative route at the same ticket price would be attractive to me (I would much prefer a longer train journey than having to use a replacement bus).

The only way I can see this working is Bristol - Taunton - Castle Cary - Dorchester/Upwey/Weymouth - Brockenhurst - Lymington; I have not looked up train times and connections south of Frome

There will be a service every 30 minutes from Trowbridge to Bristol, alternate trains carrying on to Cardiff.  These trains will not be reversing in the platform at Trowbridge, but in the main West of England line which will be the railway's operational pinch point getting in the way of all the through trains crossing Wiltshire

[brooklea]

Trains will still operate between:

Cardiff Central and Trowbridge
Salisbury and Portsmouth Harbour
Frome and Weymouth

A few trains will be diverted via an alternative route between Trowbridge and Frome – not stopping at Westbury.

Does this mean that there will be Bristol to Weymouth services running, using an alternative route between Towbridge and Frome, or that there won't be, but a few trains will also run using this diversionary route? (and if so, what trains are these?).

No, the only through trains between Frome and Trowbridge that are advertised are;
06:18 Yeovil Pen Mill - Bristol Temple Meads
06:38 Weymouth - Bristol Temple Meads

And in the other direction;
17:35 Swindon - Weymouth

[froome]

I don't really understand the thinking behind this. If it is physically possible to run a train from Trowbridge to Frome, why not run the normal Weymouth service, just using the loop to avoid Westbury. Is there not capacity for this?

[grahame]

I don't really understand the thinking behind this. If it is physically possible to run a train from Trowbridge to Frome, why not run the normal Weymouth service, just using the loop to avoid Westbury. Is there not capacity for this?

There are - err - various questions that can be very well asked around some of the thinking.  There is a capacity issue on the West of England mainline under the White Horse, with all the important trains to get through there as well as reversing the trains from and via Bath Spa.  I think West of England semi-fasts are calling at Frome, and I wonder if stone trains are being held / stabled there more than usual too. The issue of crew rosters has been raised too.   But the vibes I get are that pressing much more could result in a resentment of us arm chair experts (we're only passengers) questioning the decisions taken by the experts who - however - may be constrained from thinking out of the box wearing passenger glasses.   Put in your concerns - and also watch this space.  I would only expect tiny changes but you never know ...

[Timmer]

The Westbury Engineering work page has been updated to reflect:

That Melksham DOES have a train service throughout the period of the work at Westbury albeit one service in each direction at peak times.

That rail tickets are also valid on the 271/272/273 Melksham to Bath bus services.

For completeness, I am reposting all the information regards services during the work at Westbury.

https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering/wessex

Track renewal work will affect all train services via Westbury, plus structural repairs will also impact trains between Warminster and Salisbury.

Trains between Reading and the south west will stop at Frome instead of Westbury.

Trains will still operate between:

Cardiff Central and Trowbridge
Salisbury and Portsmouth Harbour
Frome and Weymouth
A few trains will be diverted via an alternative route between Trowbridge and Frome – not stopping at Westbury.

In addition, a very limited train service will still operate via Melksham on Monday to Friday only:

07:52 from Trowbridge to Swindon
17:35 from Swindon to Trowbridge (continuing to Weymouth via an alternative route not stopping at Westbury)
However, most trains between Westbury and Swindon will not run, but other trains will still be running between Chippenham and Swindon.

Replacement buses are planned between:

Trowbridge and Westbury, Frome or Salisbury
Chippenham and Westbury or Frome
As an alternative, valid rail tickets can also be used to travel free of charge on the following bus services in the area:

Bus number   Route
49   Swindon – Trowbridge (via Devizes)
D1   Bath – Bradford-on-Avon – Trowbridge – Westbury – Warminster
D2   Bath – Frome (via Radstock)
X34   Chippenham – Melksham – Frome
24   Salisbury – Warminster – Frome
271, 272, 273   Melksham – Bath
These buses may be delayed by additional traffic diverted away from the A36 due to an ongoing road closure at Limpley Stoke.

Important to note

All parking bays in the station car park at Frome will be suspended from Monday 23 December until Friday 24 January for the rail replacement services.