I never thought that photos of decayed upholstery stuffing could qualify as astonishing and then... these photos of yours.

Totally guessing here: that looks to be a polyurethane ether foam that's suffered chemical instability. Specifically, it has oxidised, and the changes in its chemistry have destroyed the physical integrity of the material. Perhaps the material was defective from the time it was manufactured, or it's possible that it's not withstood whatever cleaning regime is used on the seats - this might involve steam cleaning + chemicals that have oxidised the padding.

Comfort aside, there's the DVT risk (something that is real even if the airlines have successfully batted away several legal cases brought by passengers). For good measure, some of the decay products of this sort of foam are toxic.

Mark

 
So station usage estimates are out (already a thread about it in the other section here). Roughly 50k for Ashley Down based on what is probably around half a year of it being open, so ~100k if you were to assume the same usage patterns over a full year period. Do we know how that compares to the estimates and business case prior to opening?

Initially it sounds a bit low to me (especially when compared to Montpellier a 20 minute walk away at over 300k), but then in that comparison Ashley Down has a much less frequent service, with much later first trains and earlier last trains, a Sunday service may aswell not exist half the time given GWR's Sunday issues and of course it is still a new station so people will be finding out about it etc. So maybe its actually doing well considering all that!

 
Stronger than a rumour so I thought I'd put it here....
https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/25669640.agenda-reopening-branch-line-spur-falmouth-docks/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1764828103

 
Ah, it *is* a portent then, and a terrible one. At least, it is if the 'Flooding' is tidal.

Mark

 
Yes it is a concern for vulnerable road users and young people
https://bsky.app/profile/canseengland.bsky.social/post/3m72vixwln226
Surprisingly most of the research supporting this has been done in America. Don't tell King Donald, or maybe that is why he has a down on universities.

 
From the BBC:

 

Appears to be Moorfields in Liverpool

 
So passenger numbers at Melksham Station have dropped from 63,350 in the year 2023/24 to 60,930 in the year 2024/25.
Disappointing when passenger numbers across the UK have increase by 7% over the year. 
Why might the Melksham figure have fallen?

1. Trains were good as suspended during engineering works at Westbury from 24th December 2024 to 24th January 2025. Without that suspension, passenger journeys would have been just over 66,000. Replacement buses ran well in the circumstances, but a bus service taking several times as long as the train is no substitute, and only a tiny proportion of people used them.

2. When the services did run, they were very much prone to cancellation. If you look at ((this thread)) where we kept an eye on performance you'll find no less that 808 posts for 2024 - and we are up to 772 already this year.  This reflects an ongoing issue with cancellations, and it's little wonder that people don't buy tickets for trains that aren't running.  The cancellation rate on-the-day is in excess of 10%, and that does not take into account the engineering works mentions in (1) just above

3. Community promotion of Melksham’s train service has been muted last year and this.  Whilst the service has been useable for regular passengers who know what they are doing and have a “Plan B” and understanding boss, we at MTUG have been very limited is suggesting try-it-out trips with the risk of people being disappointed and put off for years. And I have not seen any general promotions in our area from Community Rail. In hindsight, the sad decisions not to market were correct, bearing in mind some of the stories I have heard.

I am actually amazed at how robust the figures are.  That's probably because Melksham's train service provides a lifeline to many of its users - it is nothing like as much a leisure / optional market here as it is in so many other places.

From April this year until November, reliability issues were serious with far too many cancellations, and with trains declared as cancelled but then re-instated - sometimes with little or no notice, and running nearly empty. So the figures we see next year are also likely to be disappointing.  However, the problems are at long last being noticed, it appears, by people who have some ability to give us a level playing field and I would hope to see them improve.   Having said which, 60,000 journeys is still twenty times the numbers given to me of around 3,000 when I first asked "how many people use Melksham Station".  We are up from ten to two hundred journeys a day.

Numbers should be far higher.  And there is opportunity.  Once people have a product that is useful and they can rely on.  At 9 trains a day each way, it is useful but thin.  It's the reliability that's needed back - with the provision of an appropriate alternative on the very rare occasions when things go wrong.  I hope we don't hear "oops - we've not got a driver" or "oops - we've not actually got a working train" in 2026!

---

From a Facebook post:

 
From the BBC:

 

Separate thread ... in preparation  for local circulation

 
Yes, commendable actions from the train crew.

 
Some very impressive (and slightly surprising) leaps.

I guess the combination of the return of many office workers, the continued explosion of leisure travel and other more minor factors such as the end of industrial action have all played their part?

Imagine how the numbers would stack up if the railway were providing a better and more consistent service - cue Graham to talk about the slight drop at Melksham, but there are other examples too, such as the generally 'meh' service Chiltern now provide leading to stagnat figures at Oxford Parkway.

As for Bath Spa?  77th busiest station in the whole country.  I can only see one busier one (outside of central London) with only two platforms...can anyone guess which it is?

 
Yes - looking pretty good in the Bristol area too!

 
I think that the bus driver had attempted to turn his vehicle, realising he had gone the wrong way. Cleeve Wood Road is wide enough for a bus.

 
I have just used the fresh data to update the maps of station usage here: https://timjupp.github.io/stations.html

"Map 1" gives the long-term trend since 1998.

"Map 2" shows (as black dots) the stations for which 2024 - 25 was their best ever year. There are a lot of them, especially in our region.

 
ORR has just published station usage data, and at the end has regional busiest stations

Bristol Temple Meads 10.9m
Bath Spa 9.5m
Swindon 3.2m
Exeter Central 3.0m
Exeter St Davids 2.9m

Others not in South West top 5
London Paddington 69.9m
Reading 14.3m
Cardiff Central 12.5m

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/msigcn24/station-usage-2024-25-statistical-release.pdf

For those who like to do pre-covid comparisons, the 2018-2019 report is here

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/1668/estimates-of-station-usage-2018-19-factsheet.pdf

The link to ORR data page with links to to the data spreadsheets is here (not yet looked) but could check rank of your local station or its change

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage

Edit : just looked up some figures from 2018-19 which shows big jump on some stations eg
Bath Spa was 6.538m
Exeter St Davids 2.619m

But others less important eg
Reading was 17.08m 
Swindon was 3.75m
(perhaps few more trains need to skip these if usage down)

 

Right answer .. wrong question  .  Peter's role in the DfT was one I do not envy him - I am leaving the double post here though as a "tip of the hat" in respect to a gentleman with whom we didn't / don't always see eye to eye with, but for whom, never the less, I hold a great respect.

 
I was sad to learn over the weekend of the passing of John Ingram (at the age of 90), chair of the West Wiltshire Rail Users Group from around 2008 to 2010.  John was a gentleman, and a good friend and supporter of public transport in the area.

From April 2009 -  a typical practical but positive campaigning contribution to a press release https://www.passenger.chat/r4498.html - "First Great Western have improved many of their services that pass through Wiltshire in the last two year" say John Ingram, Chairman and Warminster Committee representative at the West Wilts Rail Users Group, "but the service linking the main Wiltshire Towns remains unfit for purpose, and dramatically worse than it was three years ago. The proposals are eminently practical and are what are needed to get the service up and running again."

Thank you to John's son Richard for letting me know; the WWRUG committee which met last night passes on it condolences to John's family and friends. Fond memories and John was a rock who will be sorely missed.

 
Try again, 7 Peter West OBE, named class 150 units.

 
7 Peter West OBE - named class 150 units - sorry wrong thread!

 
6.  I guess that this this might be Southern Region headcodes

 
4. CM

 
Objective - to attend a meeting in Trowbridge at 5 p.m. yesterday, lasting just over 2 hours.  Google tells me it's 6.8 miles from my home in Melksham to the venue, and will take me 15 minutes.  Except, I'm not driving if I can help it.  Trowbridge has a population of 46,000 and Melksham 29,000.

How did that work by public transport

Outbound

I left home at 16:00 and walked into the Town Centre (5 minutes) for the 16:18 bus to Trowbridge.  This is from one of two bus stops in Melksham that has a real time departure display and it indicated that was expected in 25 minutes (so a bit late).  As it's after 09:00 in Wiltshire, I was able to use my senior bus pass; noted that very few passengers were using such cards.  Due at the stop at Trowbridge at 16:48, actually pulled up there at 17:00, walked into meeting 5 minutes late. Not a problem being slightly delayed for this particular meeting - if that had been a concern I would have travelled just over half an hour earlier.

The meeting was attended by people from various West Wiltshire towns and finished at 19:15.  "What train did you catch to get here" asked H.  "I didn't - I came by bus".  Oh "When is your next bus back" asked H. "It would be tomorrow morning - I'm going home by train".

Inbound

But the next train after 19:15 wasn't due for almost an hour, and I took myself to the Rose and Crown ... a pint of apple and blackcurrant cider, an exchange of banter with the barmaid, and a warm seat within site of the train departure display they have there while I worked on my laptop.

20:12 to Cheltenham Spa showing on time as I left at 20:00 to walk across to the station.  At 20:05, train showing "On Time".

Needed a ticket. Ticket office closed. Warning signs up about this being a penalty fare station.  The lowest cost single - £3.30 on a disabled rail card - required 17 button presses (OK - screen touches) with prior knowledge of where to find that fare, and choices like anytime v off peak, even though I know that the last peak train had left 12 hours ago.

Person on platform looks to use loos but finds them locked.

At around 20:07, train moves from "On Time" (20:12) to 20:13 and then each minute passing slips a minute later until it shows 20:17.  ((a few minutes is no worry to me)).  Then it switched to say "Delayed".

Tannoy announcement "We are sorry that the 20:12 to Cheltenham Spa via Melksham is delayed.  Your next fastest train will be the 21:22 from Platform 1". Oops

Another passenger looks panicked. I ask her if she's waiting for the Cheltenham Spa train and she confirms that she is, and I re-assure her that the 20:12 (and it's now after that) will probably be along ... probably held up at Westbury awaiting the connection from London.

Screen changes from "Delayed" to 20:17 ... and at around 20:17 it pulls in.  Passengers on and off.  Train manager walks up outside train to nudge door - perhaps it had not fully closed, and we're off.   No ticket check, no sight of train manager who stayed in rear cab.  No problem, except the whole experience felt very lonely.

Arrived into Melksham.  Four people waiting on platform, four more got off. I had not walked through the 3 carriage train to do a count, but past form suggests that this is the quietest train of the day, and that for each passenger using Melksham station there are two through passengers, suggestion [24/8] on our standard measurement.

No barrier checks at Melksham. One car in the short term pickup at Melksham, everyone else on foot.  Six minibuses, a van and a car in the station car park, none of which showed signs of having arrived for this train and none of which left at that point.  Real Time Trains shows a 2 minute stop at Melksham with the train leaving 7 minutes late at 20:29.

Walk home, arrived 20:50.  The worried passenger from Trowbridge had alighted at Melksham and was walking out a couple of miles to her village.

---

Why document this?   Because it shows some of the challenges of using public transport - some of which really should not be challenges.   I know that the bus is a good way to get to Trowbridge for an evening meeting but I need to take the train back.  I know the fare base and where the best value is hidden.  I know to go to the loo before I leave the Rose and Crown. I know that this train is often delayed as it waits for the connection from London (and, yes, it is right to do so) and that can lead to some off-putting announcements.  And I know that I'll be walking through the industrial area in Melksham watching for vehicles as I follow the path painted across the forecourt / turning point at the station.

Apart from the delay and much longer journey, the bus works well during operating hours, and was quite busy - kinda wonder where you’re going when you pass the Red Admiral, go all around a roundabout and the back past it ... and where you the turn right towards Hilperton when the road signs say left for Trowbridge. This is the cost of a local bus servicing all the communities along the way, picking up and dropping off people here and there who together make for a viable opertion.

 
4 Logging railway in Alaska
Date early, 1920s or 30s perhaps

 

"Horror" story of security company locking the station before the late running last train had arrived.


I ... highlight ... the quality of care from the train crew.  Northern should be proud of them, having said which I find 90% of the time that railway professionals do take that extra care of customers in extraordinary circumstances.  Heartening.

 
2 D804 Avenger

 
Thursday December 4

 
Pretty poor.

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/25670532.northern-apologises-passengers-locked-hartlepool-station/

 

 
The map's drawn a strange glyph over Cornwall. Perhaps it's a portent of some significant event.

Mark