To Weymouth from the TransWilts - 27 May 13

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Local publicity from Melksham.  You may also see this mentioned in Chippenham  .   With this being just a single day's opportunity, marketing will be muted to help ensure that demand does not outstrip supply.

Fancy a day at the seaside?

Bank Holiday Monday - 27th May - is a rare opportunity to travel by train from Melksham to Weymouth for the day - prices are 16 pounds for an adult, or just 36 pounds for a group of 4 adults and 4 children using a "Groupsave" ticket.

The train at 09:01 from Melksham Station, and arrives in Weymouth at 11:03. Return from Weymouth is at 17:30, back into Melksham at 19:46.

Passengers joining at Melksham can buy their tickets on the train.  A change of trains is necessary at Westbury.  Free car parking available at Melksham Station.

A big "Thank you" to First Great Western, who are making the trains as long as the platforms allow, and supporting the Melksham Railway Development Group and the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership in publicicising this opportunity. A representatives of both groups will be on the train.

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Trains leave Melksham on Monday to Friday at 06:38 and 19:11 for Westbury, and 07:20 and 19:48 for Swindon.   Saturday trains are at 09:20 and 15:21 to Swindon, and at 15:48 and 21:34 to Westbury. And on Sundays, trains leave at 17:25 and 19:53 for Swindon, and at 18:45 for Westbury.  Services vary on Bank Holidays.

The TransWilts Community Rail Partnership encourages the use of the existing services by working together with the community, the rail industry and local businesses and government, and it works to promote an improvement in the service to a level appropriate for the journey requirements along the route. Such improvements will see Melksham served by a train every hour - alternately to Westbury and Swindon, giving hourly connections onwards to Bath, Bristol, and London.

The Melksham Railway Development Group promotes the use, marketing and improvement of facilities at services at Melksham in Wiltshire - a town of some 25,000 inhabitants, currently with very limited rail services and facilities.

[anthony215]

Excellent lets hope it is as well used as it was the last time this trial took place.

I do hope First and the other bidders who are interested in the GW^▸ (Great Western) fracnhise pay attention to this trial.

Hopefully once we get a better service on this route , Network rail can be persuaded to improve the line by double tracking it where possible

[grahame]

Excellent lets hope it is as well used as it was the last time this trial took place.

I do hope First and the other bidders who are interested in the GW^▸ (Great Western) fracnhise pay attention to this trial.

I don't consider it a trial in any way - like I would not consider the CLPG^» (Cotswold Line Promotion Group - about) (Cotswold Line Promotion Group) trip to Swanage to be a trial service. It's much more a marketing exercise to help people be aware of the line. On past experience, trips out with a single specific service are so interesting  and such good value that far more people would turn up at the station than could fit in the train if we shout too loud, and to we're targetting to Melksham in particular (where this is a rare opportunity indeed) with some publicity for Chippenham.  For Swindon, alternative (change at Bath) options are regularly available, although with a slower journey and of course missing the beauty of the Avonside countryside via Lacock, Melksham and Holt.

Numbers on the day will depend on how accurately we judge the information volume sent out, and the weather.




Edit note: Minor typos and CLPG definition corrected. Chris from Nailsea.

[grahame]

Look forward to seeing any members on this train tomorrow - I'm joining at Melksham.   It's been quite tricky working out how much to publicise the option - want the service used but not overcrowded.   Promised a 5 car from Westbury to Weymouth and back - thank you First  - thanks for the publicity too.    Now let's hope for good weather!

[anthony215]

Well the weather in south wales is miserable. so I dont know what it is like in Weymouth.

Anyway how were passenger numbers on the service this morning

[thetrout]

The return journey called at Frome at 19:06 where I boarded the train heading for Bath Spa and saw grahame briefly. I'll let him tell you how it went as I wasn't at Melksham this AM

Although it was quite busy when I boarded at Frome I didn't struggle in finding a table seat

[grahame]

Well the weather in south wales is miserable. so I dont know what it is like in Weymouth.

Anyway how were passenger numbers on the service this morning

The return journey called at Frome at 19:06 where I boarded the train heading for Bath Spa and saw grahame briefly. I'll let him tell you how it went as I wasn't at Melksham this AM

Great day ... full report to follow.   Some pictures:

[Chris from Nailsea]

1.  Melksham. 

[bobm]

..ahh but which platform?   

[grahame]

..ahh but which platform?   

Ah - the Weymouth question.

[bobm]

Indeed - for those not on the trip there was some interesting information at Weymouth while we awaited our train home.

For a time the incoming train to form our service was shown arriving on a different platform to the one it was due to return from - raising the unlikely prospect of the unit shunting from one side of the station to the other.  In the end, of course, things corrected themselves and the train arrived and departed from platform 3.

It was a similar story at Swindon in the morning when at the last minute the service to Westbury, via Melksham, was diverted from platform 3 to the bay platform - number 2.

[grahame]

More pictures - and also some feedback as to why we marketed the trip only in a limited way -

http://www.wellho.net/mouth/4105_Our-day-trip-by-train-from-Swindon-Chippenham-and-Melksham-to-Weymouth.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

May I offer my congratulations to you, grahame, and all those who helped to organize such an obviously very successful day out on the train! 

[grahame]

Server testing - an attachment.   Picture of 19:35 (Bank Holiday Monday) train from Westbury to Swindon, photo taken between Trowbridge and Melksham

[grahame]

Same train as the one above, today when there was no Weymouth connection in the morning.

All it needs is one piece in the jigsaw for the other pieces to fit and the day out to be complete!