New Trowbridge Train Station improvements worth almost ^1m officially unveiled
The new facilities include new ticket vending machines, new passenger shelters and benches, an extension to the bike parking facilities, improved station car park and CCTV▸ .
Mrs Perry, who is Rail Minister and MP▸ for Devizes, said: ^[snip]They are significant improvements that provide the local community and businesses with a station fit for the 21st century.^
The project has been funded by Local Sustainable Transport Funding (LSTF▸ ), National Station Improvement Programme and Access for All minor works in a partnership between Wiltshire Council and First Great Western.
Nick Reid, Trowbridge Station manager, said: ^[snip] The car park has also been redesigned and we have more CCTV coverage and better lighting to increase the safety aspect of the station in the evening. There will also be massive benefits from the new ticket machines, which will allow rail users to buy tickets in the evenings when the ticket office is shut or during busy holiday periods.^
The ability to purchase tickets at almost any time - now available from Swindon to Westbury inclusive - is especially welcome as it will help massively with revenue protection. With TransWilts trains busier than predicted, there have been frequent occasions when crew have not been able to reach everyone during their journey; there have also been far too many journeys from Trowbridge on other services where there has been no opportunity to purchase the correct ticket.
Security and comfort are another aspect which all partners have been aware of at Trowbridge for many years - the station has come embarrassing far down various security statistics and the improvements are to be much welcomed.
The station is supported by the Heart of Wessex Community Rail Partnership, who have cleared vegetation at the station ahead of the opening and are caring for the station gardens.
Heart of Wessex do a tremendous job on their stations, and this is a good point for me to acknowledge that as the junior
CRP▸ at Trowbridge and Westbury - the work is fantastic, and with our TransWilts CRP efforts concentrated on Marketing and raising awareness and traffic levels, we've done little and gained a lot. Of course, it goes both ways with us helping to support an extra service to Frome, and pass passengers to Weymouth concentrating on times / services with available capacity.
Horace Prickett, portfolio holder for transport at Wiltshire Council said: ^I am delighted with the new, improved service here in Trowbridge. This, along with the success of the TransWilts train service will really boost the use of the station, and make it much more comfortable for people who use it. It is anticipated that this will be the first step in the transformation of the TransWilts Swindon to Westbury line with the next step having the service extended to Salisbury and possibly to Southampton Airport, to give real connectivity to Trowbridge, Wiltshire^s county town.^
My bold, to make sure that readers notice that bit
Wiltshire^s LSTF funding for Trowbridge is part of a larger bid that included the new rail services from Chippenham to Westbury
The new services have been running for 18 months, with an extra six services a day, operated by a single carriage unit. They have already been a success, with far greater take up than expected.
Indeed; the LSTF funding included capital elements as well as seed funding for the three year trial service. Between these two elements, it's provided the framework on which the service can grow and the facilities provided cater for the travelling public better and in higher volume than was possible into the future.
From Building a Greater Western - which arrived in my mailbox today:
Click on the map to explore geographics
