Great Western Coffee Shop

Hi everyone, I'm Graham, better known as Graz or simply 'G' to my friends! A long time traveller from Oldfield Park to Cheltenham Spa, I witnessed the many highs and very few lows of the final years of Wessex trains, and the first part of the disaster that happened when First Great Western took over. I travelled 'local' most of the time, especially on the journeys back, taking the local Wessex services from Cheltenham to Bristol as they were much less crowded in the evenings, and the direct trains (Worcester Shrub Hill - Frome) were of a huge benefit- but they were all axed by FGW, of course. I unfourtunately don't use the train at current except for a few leisure journeys a month, as my office (Beckington) is quite far away from the nearest station which is Frome, but later in the year I will start travelling to Dilton Marsh, and cycling to work from there.

I'll be campaigning for Melksham (of course!) as I loved our Christmas journey up to Swindon and back, and feel that this station and line is given a timetable I would deem even less than inadequate- a service that doesn't do the line any justice at all, and what could be a potential major asset to the West as a whole should it be given a decent service.

I'm also campaigning for a hourly service at Avoncliff, Freshford, Oldfield Park (Where I live!) and Keynsham, and better peak trains to these stations, more trains on the Bristol-Waterloo service, more trains to Frome/Yeovil, better summer trains to Weston-super-Mare, and better all round services to Gloucester/Cheltenham Spa. I've also travelled on the Severn Beach line many times so will be looking closely at it.

I'll be posting here (and at Save the Train) quite regularly, more often if I didn't have to slave all day at the office(!) and look forward to seeing the improvements we'll bring.  :)

Good to see you here, Graham / Graz.    I've set up this board in addition to "Save the Train" as I've had requests from users of other lines for me to host a forum " like ...." and, after thinking it through - yes, it's a good idea.

The effect of issues is very different on your journey (where ovecrowding is nor rife, I understand) and my journeys and those of my clients, who used to use the train to Melksham (40% of them anyway) but have now migrated away to other means of transport to get here.  But the route cause of the malaise is the same - a contract between the DfT and First, and the goals of both organisations who are parties in that  contract, which between them seem to give scant consideration to the customer's travel needs.

Do you feel like telling other people on your commute about this board  ;D  ... it's newly set up, and we don't have the marketing budget nor the team of press people that First have - but we do know we're on to something.  1700 names on that petition rather confirms it ...