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grahame
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« on: January 02, 2025, 18:38:01 » |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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Phil
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« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2025, 20:58:33 » |
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I'm actually MUCH preferring the rail replacement bus. There seems to be much less chance of last minute cancellations to services to and from Melksham. Timings might be a little bit erratic but at least there's a service. Bus crews actually turn up for duty, amazingly enough. Buses leaving Chippenham seem to be much less prone to suddenly veer off at Thingley and go straight to Trowbridge via Bathampton, Freshford, Bradford on Avon etc. missing out Melksham altogether. Buses leaving Westbury don't suddenly dump passengers at an unstaffed Trowbridge station and instruct them to find taxis or alternative buses to Melksham because they are now apparently heading for Chippenham via Bradford on Avon, Freshford, Bathampton etc.
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Kempis
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« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2025, 13:51:50 » |
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We travelled from Salisbury to Bristol on Sunday afternoon, taking the rail replacement service from Salisbury to Trowbridge. Everything worked well and ran to time (the coach making quite prolonged stops at Warminster and Westbury), and the train at Trowbridge was waiting at the platform, ready for us to board when the coach arrived. Since we had many bags, I was relieved that the vehicle was a coach, with a luggage compartment under the seats, rather than a bus.
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« Last Edit: January 03, 2025, 14:00:06 by Kempis »
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LiskeardRich
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« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2025, 20:02:38 » |
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The 4 vehicles my employer are supplying from down here in Devon for this rail replacement do have toilets! You just got unlucky having one without a loo I guess
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All posts are my own personal believes, opinions and understandings!
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grahame
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« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2025, 20:18:01 » |
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The 4 vehicles my employer are supplying from down here in Devon for this rail replacement do have toilets! You just got unlucky having one without a loo I guess
Maybe - or maybe I didn't look enough. Whole variety of coaches at Trowbridge and I suspect the one with loos may have been in use on the longer (Salisbury) runs. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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JayMac
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« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2025, 20:39:16 » |
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Last time I got on a rail replacement service at Westbury it was a very comfortable executive coach whose day job was as Taunton Town FC‡'s team transport.  |
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"A clear conscience laughs at a false accusation."
"Treat everyone the same until you find out they're an idiot."
"Moral indignation is a technique used to endow the idiot with dignity."
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2025, 21:13:54 » |
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Were you expected to jog up & down and sign autographs after disembarking?  |
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LiskeardRich
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« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2025, 09:25:21 » |
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The 4 vehicles my employer are supplying from down here in Devon for this rail replacement do have toilets! You just got unlucky having one without a loo I guess
Maybe - or maybe I didn't look enough. Whole variety of coaches at Trowbridge and I suspect the one with loos may have been in use on the longer (Salisbury) runs. The white Truronian Mercedes in your photo doesn’t have a toilet. Ours are the blue Megabus branded Interdecks. Toilet is located on the middle stair case. |
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All posts are my own personal believes, opinions and understandings!
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matth1j
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« Reply #8 on: Today at 08:59:48 » |
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I thought I'd try the replacement Melksham-Chippenham 0650 bus this morning instead of the Faresaver 271 bus service. And I'm converted It was a couple of minutes late, and made an unscheduled stop shortly after turning onto the A350 to let out the couple of lads who had thought they were going to Trowbridge (scheduled for 0701) But it still got to Chippenham over 5 minutes early, which meant I could catch the 0711 Penzance service instead of the 0734 Weston I was expecting to wait for (and would normally catch, if lucky). And the nice and comfy Beeline coach was virtually empty, unlike the packed 271. Any chance the engineering work will overrun? |
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grahame
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« Reply #9 on: Today at 10:41:27 » |
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I thought I'd try the replacement Melksham-Chippenham 0650 bus this morning instead of the Faresaver 271 bus service. And I'm converted It was a couple of minutes late, and made an unscheduled stop shortly after turning onto the A350 to let out the couple of lads who had thought they were going to Trowbridge (scheduled for 0701) But it still got to Chippenham over 5 minutes early, which meant I could catch the 0711 Penzance service instead of the 0734 Weston I was expecting to wait for (and would normally catch, if lucky). And the nice and comfy Beeline coach was virtually empty, unlike the packed 271. Any chance the engineering work will overrun? We should really look to getting the train service RIGHT - running, and suffiicinlty on time to make connections. I note that the bus at 06:50 these weeks is half an hour earlier from Melksham than the normal 07:21 train ... that's an extra 30 minutes on your day. |
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Coffee Shop Admin, Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, TravelWatch SouthWest Board Member
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