Researching article - as others see us?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

At times, I'm so close to the need to improve TransWilts services that I don't necessarily see how others look at us.  In researching a wideranging article that I'm writing today, I've come across a few interesting different and sidelong sources ...

From Wikipedia

There is a link from Trowbridge to Chippenham, with an intermediate stop at Melksham. Despite showing strong passenger growth in the previous few years, the new franchise reduced services in December 2006 to 2 each way per day, at times barely convenient for commuters. This has particularly hit Trowbridge to London commuters, who now generally have to drive to Chippenham or Westbury for a connection to London if they wish to arrive at the capital relatively early.

From May 2011 it is anticipated that an existing early-morning Westbury to London Paddington service operated by a First Great Western High Speed Train will start back from Bristol Temple Meads and run via Bath Spa, Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge. This development would provide Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge with their first direct service to and from London Paddington since the mid-1960s.  It will also help ease congestion on the roads to Chippenham and Westbury, which have become the intercity railheads for the surrounding Wiltshire towns since the reduction in frequency of the Westbury-Trowbridge-Melksham-Chippenham line service.

From a twitter search for #FGW^▸ (First Great Western)

@125TashD - Natasha Dagnall
loves the thought of starting work at 0245 2mrw morning #trains #fgw #lovemyjob

From a tourist site:

Travel distance from Swindon in the United Kingdom to Salisbury in Great Britain
Great circle distance in miles from Swindon to Salisbury is 25 miles or 40.23 Kilometers based upon

Longitude:-1.77232873 Latitude:51.5513382 for Swindon
Longitude:-1.6681385, Latitude:51.19135284 for Salisbury

Estimated travel times Swindon and Salisbury

Travel by Car: In a car at an average speed of 40mph (64 kmh) it would take you roughly 0.6 hours to get from Swindon to Salisbury

From FGW's own buytickets site - difference of time and price of direct trains and connecting trains:



refrerences:

http://www.hotels-accommodation-europe.co.uk/how-far-from-swindon-to-salisbury.html
http://twitter.com/#!/125Tashd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wessex_Main_Line

Actually I'm heartened that we, together, can make some things better .... there are so many things that are no-brainers that would make a real difference, so surely it can't be that hard??

Any more sidelong glances?

[JayMac]

Might go off and edit that Wilkipedia entry. As I now know, thanks to this forum, the early morning FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service starting at Bristol TM^‡(resolve) instead of Westbury is not timetabled to call at Bath Spa. 

EDIT: Edit done! 

From Wikipedia:

From 23rd May 2011 an existing early-morning Westbury to London Paddington weekday service operated by a First Great Western High Speed Train will start back from Bristol Temple Meads, calling at Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge, before reversing at Westbury and resuming the existing route via Newbury to London Paddington.

 

[grahame]

Might go off and edit that Wilkipedia entry. As I now know, thanks to this forum, the early morning FGW^▸ (First Great Western) service starting at Bristol TM^‡(resolve) instead of Westbury is not timetabled to call at Bath Spa. 

EDIT: Edit done! 

<pedant> It said "via Bath Spa" ... it didn't say it called there  </pedant>

[JayMac]

Proud pedant of course. 

The article said via Bath Spa, BoA^» (Bradford-on-Avon - next trains) and Trowbridge. Thought I'd clarify the calling pattern.