December Timetable at Melksham

[whole diary]

[Rhydgaled]

This Document may interest some of you especially as it concerns the additional Westbury - Swindon Servies as well as the extra services between Torquay and Newton Abbott.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225394/fgw-franchise-letter.pdf

Seems the DFT^▸ (Department for Transport)/FGW^▸ (First Great Western)  are going to use a class 153 on these extra services.
I do hope the loco hauled option comes off as well especially on the Cardiff - Taunton route

Linked letter also suggests the two 153s needed will be released by hiring a SWT^▸ (South West Trains) 158. Is that a 2nd SWT 158 they are planning to hire or is the current one already leaving two 153s spare? If it is a 2nd hired 158, does that mean SWT have found an EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) to work the Lymington branch to free the 158 or are they so good at maintaining 158s they can push the availability in order to hire one out to FirstGW?

[paul7575]

SWT^▸ (South West Trains) may well have less need for DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) following the forthcoming EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) cascade, but there's nothing expected imminently, ie by December this year.

However the Lymington 158 isn't necessarily the likeliest to be replaced, there are a number of other 158 and 159 diagrams that operate in the electrified area that could also be replaced by EMUs.

RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) still shows weekday DMU and Sat/Sun EMU beyond the timetable change as well...

Paul

[grahame]

This Document may interest some of you ...
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225394/fgw-franchise-letter.pdf

Thanks for that link, Anthony ... it's a letter dated 25th June 2013 and judging by the blackouts may been published from an FOI^▸ (Freedom of Information) request.    I've attached the TransWilts services it agreed in principle.    Note says that summer first train may operate up to an hour later.

The timetable has been tuned in the three months since;  I'm particularly glad to see trains running up to Swindon at hourly intervals now on a Saturday morning rather than just 15 minutes apart.

[John R]

Having looked at the timetable in more detail, some of the connections are a touch unfortunate. For example, the 1730 Bristol to Chippenham will be approaching Chip'm just as the Transwilts is pulling out, meaning that commuters will have to leave 30 minutes earlier.

Whilst the overall journey time is still not bad, 25 minutes wait every day will put a lot of people off. Hopefully in due course some of these timings might be tweaked, although I don't underestimate the problems of moving timings by even a couple of minutes as has previously been discussed on the forum. And who knows, maybe the train will be full anyway?

[grahame]

Having looked at the timetable in more detail, some of the connections are a touch unfortunate.

Indeed ...

The new timetable has clearly been planned to provide services throughout the day, and to be operationally robust on a route which connects with no fewer than 3 main lines - from London to Bristol and South Wales, London to the South West of England, and Cardiff / Bristol to Southampton / Portsmouth. These connections give a wide range of extra travel opportunities, and in the light of experience the community, local council and rail industry may agree minor adjustments over coming years to improve official connections and trim a few minutes off certain journeys.

and

At Westbury, the initial service has to be timed to arrive and depart when a platform is available, and further considerable improvements will be possible if and when an additional platform is provided there.

both from ... http://atrebatia.info/twr_briefing.pdf

If you look back at the June 2013 letter from the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) to FGW^▸ (First Great Western) you'll note that there already have been some positive adjustments - the most noticeable being two Westbury to Swindon trains on a Saturday morning that were originally followed each other at minimum headway that are now scheduled to run an hour apart giving Saturday morning trains at 07:32, 08:22 and 09:32 rather that 07:32, 09:15 and 09:30.

[grahame]

Not unusual ... a hotel guest (we run a hotel) phones in or emails to ask about reaching us by public transport, the final few miles.  I was answering one this evening and mused as to what I might write from December

Sarah's passed on your request for transport information - arriving by train from London, and I note your estimated 7 p.m. arrival ...

Currently, I went on:

Firstly, the 17:45 train from Paddington connects at Swindon into the Melksham train, where it arrives at 19:11. A slightly earlier train (17:30 from Paddington) connects into the same Melksham train at Chippenham on the same platform - a good alternative if you have heavy luggage!

There are other trains to Chippenham from Paddington - every 30 minutes until mid evening.   And there are taxis available outside the station at Chippenham that will bring you the final 6 miles to us. There's also a late evening bus from Chippenham station at 22:22 (22:47 at Melksham Market Place) - connection off the 20:45 from Paddington.

From December, I might be able to say this instead:

Trains from Paddington at 16:30, 17:45 and 19:00 connect at Swindon and / or Chippenham into the TransWilts train to Melksham (arriving 18:03, 19:17 and 20:38 respecively), and the 20:45 from Paddington connects at Chippenham into the late bus which gets you to Melksham at 22:47.  Train to train, Chippenham is much the easier change if you have heavy luggage.

[basset44]

Hi All,

And mentioned on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) web site

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-24608177

Wiil try and use this line next year for a trip or two to Melksham

Basset

[bobm]

Just for ease of reference, here is the article linked to in the previous post.

Extra rail services planned for a line in Wiltshire will be scrapped within two years if not enough passengers use them, the county council has warned.

Wiltshire Council is proposing to spend ^1.2m to subsidise a daily increase in services between Westbury and Swindon, from two trains to eight.

The subsidy will stop in two years when First Great Western's franchise ends.

And the council said the extra services would not last beyond then if they do not prove to be economically viable.

At present two return train services run each day between Swindon and Westbury, via Melksham, with the number to rise to eight if the council approves the move.

'Desperately important'
 
Councillor John Thomson, deputy leader, said he was hoping the increased service would be a "success and be self-supporting in the future" but warned the cash was "short term".

"Basically, if it's not economically viable when the network is re-tended for, whoever wins the franchise will not provide it," he said.

The subsidy paid to First Great Western by the council, from Department for Transport funding, is expected to be ^595,000 in 2013-14 and ^628,000 in 2014-15.

Rail campaigner Graham Ellis, from Melksham, believes the increased services will make a "desperately important" difference.

He said: "Basically, I run a business in Melksham and I'm anticipating our customers arriving by train going up from 4% to 40%.

"It's going to be a huge difference for commuters and for the economies of Westbury, Trowbridge and Melksham, especially.

"We have got to prove it fairly quickly, within the first year, but we're fairly confident that will happen."

[teamsaint]

I was chatting to somebody today, who lives in Melksham,  whose husband commutes from Chippenham to London, and she didn't know about the new timetable.

[Network SouthEast]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have put up an announcement on their website.

An improved Trans Wilts train service between Westbury and Swindon, with additional trains running through Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham, could be operating by Christmas.

Council leaders have given the go-ahead for the Trans Wilts Rail Service and for a detailed contract to be negotiated with First Great Western (FGW). It is hoped the new service will be ready to start operating on Sunday December 8.

A draft timetable drawn up by FGW sees six additional trains a day in each direction from Monday to Saturday, meaning there will be one train approximately every two hours, including early morning and evening services in both directions. There will also be an additional four trains on Sundays throughout the year.

The subsidised Trans Wilts service forms part of Wiltshire Council^s Local Sustainable Transport Fund project. Funding for the project comes from a Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) grant and will support the improved service for three years.

Work on developing the improved train services through Wiltshire stopped in late 2012 after central government paused and then terminated the rail re-franchising process. The negotiating and subsequent awarding of a new franchise agreement to FGW by the DfT at the beginning of October meant planning for the Trans Wilts service (included in the franchise as a priced option) could resume.

First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood said:

"First Great Western has worked hard with Wiltshire Council and the Trans Wilts Community Rail Partnership to secure these additional services.

"We are delighted with today's decision, which will enable us to provide an extra six trains a day in each direction. This is great news for passengers, allowing both commuters and leisure travellers a good value alternative to taking the car."

Deputy Leader of Wiltshire Council and Cabinet Member for Highways John Thomson said:

^The improved Trans Wilts Rail Service is an important part of the council^s commitment to reducing inequality by ensuring better access to public transport for communities.

^The expanded service will soon be running and bringing real social and economic benefits to the people of Wiltshire, however it is important local people use and support the service to ensure it is viable into the future.^

[grahame]

I was chatting to somebody today, who lives in Melksham,  whose husband commutes from Chippenham to London, and she didn't know about the new timetable.

There's a major informational job to be done, and it's planned and largely prepared. First, Wiltshire Council and the Community working on this.   As First and WC^▸ (Wiltshire Council (Unitary Authority)) have rather more reach that the CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership), you'll probably hear most from them with the CRP filling in and with local knowledge.  I've said "wow" at some of the stuff that's coming    

Bear in mind that the final hurdle is only just cleared, and the service doesn't start until the month after next. There's an element of "damned if you do and damned if you don't" in timing ... yes, people should be informed as far in advance as possible.  But you don't want people turning up for trains that don't yet run either.

Teamsaint, I'm pretty sure that existing commuters from Chippenham won't be able to help but notice ... the much harder task is reaching people who go from suburban home to car and then from car into office in Swindon / Reading.

[John R]

So if, as the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Press Release says, the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) funding is for three years, why is there talk of the service ceasing at the franchise expiry if passenger numbers do not grow quickly enough?

[grahame]

So if, as the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Press Release says, the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) funding is for three years, why is there talk of the service ceasing at the franchise expiry if passenger numbers do not grow quickly enough?

Just as it take time to bring a service in, so it takes time to do the reverse and the real results need to be seen in 2014 / perhaps early into 2015.  Bear in mind that you have franchise end, and duration / time limits on LSTF^▸ (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) expenditure too which must be taken into account.

As well as the build up, the whole 2015 (Autumn), 2016, and beyond was brought up and discussed on Saturday - the "regain and retain" is the agenda and that means submissions for post-electrification franchises.  What happenes to the 07:04 and 19:35 off Westbury when they no longer are parts of through trains to Cheltenham Spa because it's an IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) beyond Swindon.