Great Western Coffee Shop

Good to see on p108 of the Hendy Update that Melksham is to be lengthened to take three cars.  And Dilton Marsh to take one car (!)

I'm glad to see that the Dilton Marsh platform is to be extended.  :)

Lee and I were 'told off' by a train driver, some time ago, because we apparently caused some confusion as to whether he had to stop, at the specific location for front single door opening, at Dilton Marsh.  Fair comment: we were chatting to / distracting the conductor.  ::) :-[ :o

I counted no fewer than 22 getting off the 15:28 from Warminster there about 10 days ago ... it seems it's the regular school train home.  And I also walked past the station on the Wessex Ramblers winter walk, as was struck by how housing development on on side continues to encroach on the station, and how close the village is not the other side.

To my (potentially incomplete) knowledge, there's not been any recent study, nor are there resources waiting around for one, to see what would happen if the 'curious and perverse' service were to be replaced by something a little more frequent, and a little less peversed.   But I've just got a sneaky feeling we might see a passenger increase quite out of proportion to the service increase.   Whether that would merely be abstraction from Westbury, or new traffic, would be a very interesting question to consider!

Getting closer - should be happening in the next 12 months.

Dilton Marsh platforms currently around 15 metres up to 25 metres

Melksham platform currently 38 metres up to 71 metres. The new extension is to the north, but the old platform still exists to the south (behind the business that's been built on the old platform, not leaving any space for passengers even though three's a face. The original platform was 92 metres and with the business relocated the platform could go up to 125 metres - that's enough for a five car train - in due course.

Great news!  Thanks for the update.