Easter Sunday - Melksham Services

[whole diary]

[Sion Bretton]

I have checked Network rail and we have bus replacement service
17:35 Bus to Chippenham
20:08 Bus to Chippenham

19:20 Bus to Trowbridge.

Details from Network Rail

[Timmer]

Here's the revised timetable from FGW^▸ (First Great Western):
http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Documents/Custom/FGW%201772%20Melksham_New%20Info.qxd.pdf

[Sion Bretton]

Shame FGW^▸ (First Great Western) coundn't print a poster for the change of service times on Good Friday & Easter Monday. 

[grahame]

Shame FGW^▸ (First Great Western) coundn't print a poster for the change of service times on Good Friday & Easter Monday. 

Indeed.  The poster (also up an the turn in to the station at the top of the industrial estate, but not at the station) does show the Sunday bus times.    About Friday and Monday, it comments:

Customers travelling over the Easter period are advised to check journey times before travelling, as a revised level of service will be operating on many routes particularly on both Friday 10 April 2009 (Good Friday) and Monday 13 April 2009 (Bank Holiday Monday).

Which is good advise, but for the wrong reason.   On the TransWilts, the level of service was identical today .... but the 07:17 was retimed to 10:30, the 06:40 to 11:36 and the 19:47 to 17:47.  The 19:11 was unchanged.

There was another more general sign at the station talking about altered services  today, and listing the lines to which they applied.   But that didn't list the TransWilts as one of the effected lines.

And the information point isn't working again ...

So in summary ... a station serving a catchment of over 20,000 people and 3 out of four trains that are moved off their normal timetable by between 2 and 5 hours and the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) didn't even put up a poster there to tell people what was going on.

[johoare]

So in summary ... a station serving a catchment of over 20,000 people and 3 out of four trains that are moved off their normal timetable by between 2 and 5 hours and the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) didn't even put up a poster there to tell people what was going on.

It's almost as if they don't want people using their service? So they can then say they're not needed? Or is that just me being cynical? 

[devon_metro]

You mention a catchment area Graham, from what i've seen, Melksham station is in an industrial estate! How close to the town centre is it?

[grahame]

It's almost as if they don't want people using their service? So they can then say they're not needed? Or is that just me being cynical? 

You mention a catchment area Graham, from what i've seen, Melksham station is in an industrial estate! How close to the town centre is it?

Good questions both ... and I'm going to try not to answer with essays that will exceed our maximum post length 

Jo, this is something I have given quite a bit of thought to in the past.  Where something isn't done ... where something is totally inappropriate ... it can be for a number of reasons.   (a) It could be a mistake.  (b) It could be that no-one cares or (c) it could be that there are other motives which mean that it is intentional.  I tend not to be a "conspriracy theory" person, and I don't believe that First make too many mistakes - so my view when all else balances is that no-one cares.  However, we have seen things happen so consistently in unfortunate ways that I am minded to accept the theory that the motives are not always to provide a service that's in the passenger's interest, but to further other goals instead.  Have a look at http://www.canber.co.uk/?q=node/51 which lists 21 ways which have been (or are) used to supress traffic - and follow the link from that page to see just how many of the example relate to the "TransWilts".

Melksham Station is between 400m and 500m from the main start of the shops (I have measured that distance to Lidl rather than a couple of outlyers) which then stretch about 1km to the Market Square which is at the extreme far end. There are side shoots off the 1km, within the town centre - it is not a strip development. Also close to Melksham station you have Countrywide Farmers (300m) which is were the new Asda store will be going too, Aldi and McDonalds (just 150m as the crow flies) and Leeke's Superstore actually backing on to the railway about 500m from the station. Melksham Station entrance - you are correct - is 150m into a small industrial estate which is a severe discouragement to the nervous, and to those who are convinced that they are going the wrong way as "there can't possibly be a station down there".  And access to McDonalds and Aldi - 150m as the crow flies - is more like 300m to 400m if you walk around to get there.

OK - that is "present" and answers the specific questions.  But then let me add:

1. Land from the station to the area in which Aldi and McDonalds are located is set aside for conversion to an access path or road - indeed, it's a gravel path at the moment, but there's a pile of earth and a six foot fence there which is all that's stopping people getting through to the Spencer's Gate / Aldi / McDonald's roundabout which ALREADY has a stub exit on it to connect through to the station.

2. The station is also less than 200m from the main A350 and A365 roads, and unused industrial land there makes it well suited for park and ride - especially into places like Chippenham and Swindon.  With a loop road, bus interchanges to a wide variety of services (271/2/3, x72, 14, x34, 234 each pass close by at least once an hour) can be provided

3. Although in an industrial area itself, there is housing close by. The picture that the West Wilts Rail User Group currently have on their site to represent Melksham - http://www.wwrug.org.uk/pix/wwrug_mkm.jpg is a really good illustration of just HOW close.  These houses were built on the former Spencer's industrial land, and were sold in 2006 on the basis of "near the railway station".  And across the way from those houses you're into an older residential area.  Across the tracks, after about 100m of industial yard you have further housing, and there's a further 250 going in there on the old school site.

I've gone a bit off question there, which was "town centre" but I wanted to give a good overview.   I was in Salisbury yesteday, and the short answer to your question would be "Melksham station is closer to the centre of Melksham that Salisbury station is to the centre of Salisbury" ... but we have a long way to go in terms of improving the walk up to the Salisbury standard.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for that detailed reply, grahame! 

I know it's not really the same situation at Nailsea & Backwell, as we're on the main line, but just as a comparison, the 'town centres' of both Nailsea and Backwell are a fair bit further from our station than the 'town centre' of Melksham is from its station.

And the 'catchment' for Nailsea alone is about 20,000 these days.

As I say, it's not necessarily the same situation, but it does give an interesting comparison.  And then again, look at the case for Portishead - another similar size town, but with no rail service, at present??