Some Sunday numbers

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Sunday 25th May.  Bright but cold after some really nasty wet weather yesterday. The 08:52 train ran for the first time today (rail replacement taxis last weekend, remember) so a first chance to count passengers.   No big 'event' organised to have people come out specially, though.

I started my day at Melksham Station ... where there's free car parking for rail users, bus most people seem to be walking or (on a weekday) taking the Melksham Rail Link bus. 



A good sprinkling of people getting onto the train - not bad as it's the very first time that the 08:52 (Sundays) to Swindon has run; full statistics are below.



And on through Chippenham to Swindon - here's a view of the lovely green countryside around Royal Wootton Bassett



And back down to Westbury, picking people up at each station along their way and unloading there for them to catch their onward services to the West Country and to Weymouth.




Here are the stats I promised you ...

08:52 from Melksham arrived with 14 from Trowbridge and 7 more joined; none got off.
2 x RDG^▸ (Rail Delivery Group, or Reading station, depending on context); 1 x OXF^» (Oxford - next trains); 2 x BTH^» (Bath Spa - next trains); 1 x PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains); 1 x SWI^» (Swindon - next trains)
7 off and 2 on at Chippenham
21/7

09:26 from Swindon left with 31 passengers on board
3 x TRO^» (Trowbridge - next trains); 4 x WSB^» (Westbury - next trains); 7 x TQY; 8 x WEY; 1 x PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains); 1 x WRM; 1 x CCY; 1 x CPM^» (Chippenham - next trains); 4 x WOO; 1 x FRO^» (Frome - next trains)
1 off and 5 on at Chippenham
0 off and 3 on at Melksham
3 off and about 10 on at Trowbridge
(much of that extra traffic at Trowbridge changing for West of England service)
(good to see the ongoing Weymouth connection was 5 cars with good space)
38/3

10:32 from Westbury
26 on from Westbury
About 10 off and 8 on at Trowbridge (onward count was 24)
3 off and 4 on at Melksham where I left the train
28/7

12:07 train from Swindon to Westbury called at Melksham
20 on from Chippenham
1 off and 5 on at Melksham (5 x TRO)
25/5

These should be compared against a target average ridership of 20 people per train on the Trowbridge / Chippenham section once the service is fully bedded in - in other words from December 2014 to December 2015.  So next year we would be looking for 80 people across those trains (and presumably expecting something around a half to two thirds of that this year - say 50).  Achieved this morning - 112 ... and pretty well everone happy and going to tell their friends, so it can only grow.

[Chris from Nailsea]

1.  Melksham.

Oh, sorry - it isn't a quiz. 

[Timmer]

1.  Melksham.

Oh, sorry - it isn't a quiz. 

Can't be a picture quiz...no picture of Taunton  I'll get my coat.

[grahame]

13:47 at Melksham
Arrived with 11 on from Trowbridge
2 joined 1 left
13/3

17:54 at Melksham
Arrived with about 30 on
3 left 2 joined
32/5

19:40 from Westbury
14 ex Trowbridge
6 off and 1 on at Melksham
15/7

Total of 171/37 over the 7 out of 13 trains that I have figures for.  Which would scale up to 318/69 for all 13. That feels reasonable to me as I got a good cross-section.

[grahame]

For today - a pretty Sunday morning in Wiltshire ... only the second Sunday that both morning trains have run, and the first one was in the middle of a Bank Holiday ... so this morning's outward bound traffic was a good thing to look at.

08:52 from Melksham
3 on and 2 off at Melksham -> 19 ... 22/5

09:26 from Swindon
11 on from Swindon
At Chippenham +12 -0
At Melksham +7 -0
so that's 30/7

10:32 Westbury to Swindon
10 on from Westbury
At Trowbridge -3 + 13
At Melksham  +2
So that's 22/6

11:51 from Swindon to Westbury
33 on from Swindon (of whom 17 connected from Didcot or beyond)
-5 +6 at Chippenham
-6 +8 at Melksham
So 42/14 for stats

So over the 4 trains - 116/32. 
Average of 29 people per train using the otherwise unserved Chippenham - Trowbridge section, Average 8 using Melksham Station.

I have details of most journeys  some long distance stuff and a lot of short journeys too ... that's all on the CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) members / friends board;  please ask if you want to be added as a friend to that area