Thank you.   Yes, that tells us about the conditions on ticket refunds.    It does not tell us if there are any other changes coming up ... I was looking for a complete new set.

 
https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/help-and-assistance/compensation-and-refunds/refunds-change/

 
Various talks of changes to conditions of travel, on this thread and others, and yet the National Rail website where I would expect to find the definitive version - at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/NRCOT/ includes only the current and previous version.

I will be travelling next week. Where can I read the conditions that will apply to me?

 
Lovely idea...but what a hideous statute.  More Fraggle Rock than Mermaid of Zennor.

Thank God it's only temporary.

 

Hello Mark. Would you be able to provide a link to the web page that you quoted?

Thanks...

 
Geoff Marshall (of YouTube fame) has produced a PDF map dated September 2025 showing all of the request stops on the National Rail network, hope it helps with finding GWR ones:

https://www.geofftech.co.uk/downloads/RequestStops.pdf

(The orange box in the top right shows some exceptions to the rules)

 
How does this compare with the ticketting provisions of the National Rail Conditions of Travel, and if not, which is authoritative?

 
As Melksham-Bristol is my 3 day a week commute, good luck

I've mentioned previously that I changed from catching the 07:21 (via Chippenham) to the 06:29 (via Trowbridge) due to the relatively low probability of making the connection at Chippenham. Not being able to claim a refund if I missed it didn't help. Changing route has made the journey less stressful, but getting up at 5 isn't great...

Also the 2 carriage Trowbridge-Bristol train tends to be quite busy (especially this morning for some reason - quite a few people forced to stand from Keynsham). I don't remember ever having to sit next to someone on the Chippenham-Bristol service, meaning I could get my laptop out if so inclined; that's not usually an option on the Trowbridge-Bristol. However, the Avon valley scenery is nice

On balance, yes - if you were able to make an early morning Melksham-Chippenham-Bristol commute viable, I would be very grateful

BTW regarding the trip back - if I miss the 17:50 Chippenham-Melksham, the next one is at 19:00 - obviously not ideal but closer to one hour delay than 2. And in my experience the Chippenham station staff will try to arrange taxis if the service has been cancelled, although that takes time - the 19:00 might end up being the best option.

 
I can give you two "old GWR" stations where some trains stop by request and others always stop: Bearley and Claverdon. Chiltern services always stop, West Midlands services are by request.

(Was 2004 the last time these stations were served by Great Western services, as part of First Great Western Link?)

 
The quote below is from the South Western Railways ticket selling site. Does the paragraph indicate that some circumstances that were formerly able to be addressed by the train manager now need to be sorted by either ticket office staff or the online ticket selling site that sold the original ticket?

Mark

Changes:

A ticket will need to be changed in order to travel to a destination further than where it was purchased to, change the route of the ticket, change the class of travel from Standard Class to First Class, or change the date of travel.Changes to tickets purchased online should be made by the retailer from which the ticket was bought. Staffed station ticket offices can also make changes in most cases, provided that this is done before the start of the journey.NOTE: A change to the date of travel can only be made BEFORE the date on which the ticket becomes valid for travel. Other alterations such as changes to the route or class of travel will be subject to a suitable alternative Anytime product being available. In some cases, it may be cheaper to purchase a new ticket.

 

That's an observation that merits being up for discussion. It's a bit of a problem if people will pay once and then decide, in future, to walk away from public transport. It would be informative to look to experiences with the likes of LNER though: their fares mechanism is somewhat different to many others. LNER would perhaps need to be considered in conjunction with LUMO. Or... Crosscountry: costly and capacity constrained.

Mark

 
I suspect that this will have a more dramatic impact on leisure than business customers, and will probably encourage more of the former to get in their car rather than fork out more for a rail fare.

What the overall impact on income will be is anyone's guess, but it certainly suggests that in the newly nationalised railway world the concept of "value for money" will be in the context of the Government rather than the customer.

 
In the latest green initiative, HMG have proposed that all new homes built in the near future must incorporate heat pumps, and have  no connection to the gas network.
I expect considerable opposition to this policy. mainly due to running costs, with electricity at 25 pence a unit, the heat will cost about 8 pence up to 12 pence a unit. Gas would be cheaper.
Also there is no point whilst we are still burning gas for electricity production. Gas is burnt in a power station about 33%.
1OO units of gas= about 33 units of electricity. 33 units of electricity used in a heat pump will produce AT BEST 100 units of heat, 70 units of heat is arguably more realistic. And you have to build the gas power station and all the heat pumps in addition.

 
Is there a full list anywhere of all the request stops that GWR operate, and serve?   Are there any at which only some trains are "by request" and some always stop?

 
Don't know if the following is of relevance of general interest
https://connectivity-tool-lite.dft.gov.uk/index

 
More coming !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c625rd62mgzo

 
Question raised with me yesterday - the 07:21 from Melksham / why does it not properly connect with a train at Chippenham into Bristol? ("There used to be an 07:45 from Chippenham, which was ideal")

As at May 2019, the 06:30 from Paddington called at Chippenham at 07:45 (see https://www.passenger.chat/nrtt/2019_05/Table%20125.pdf ) and made a good connection.  The train has been accelerated, and now leaves Paddington at 06:28 and calls at Chippenham at 07:33 - the faster journey being due to the new IET trains which accelerate far better, especially under electric power from London, Reading and Swindon.  The train no longer calls at Didcot, and the Reading and Swindon stops are shorter because train doors are automatic and not manual "slammers".

The timetables for all trains from Paddington were revised in December 2019, and the change was major - described as shooting now-faster bullets out of a gun, and then having to replan all the train services that cross over - such as those through Melksham and through Bradford-on-Avon to dodge the bullets.

The 07:20 / 07:21 from Melksham is now scheduled into Chippenham just 2 or 3 minutes before the Bristol train leaves.  The connection is not "guaranteed" and indeed it's a gamble as to whether or not passenger can make the change - if they can't get onto the 07:33 from Chippenham, next train is 08:09.  And it can be really irritating to pull into Chippenham as the Bristol train pulls out - or to rush across to it to find the doors have just closed. To be told to stand back, and be reminded by platform staff that "it is not a connection".  We don't have a "Swiss system" - I used to worry about the 1 minute change at Dissentis, but have done it several times and it works; their trains have more relaxed timing and the connection "always" works.

What can be done for Melksham to Bath and Bristol passengers?  It's noted that for a 3 week period last summer, the 06:28 from Paddington made an extra call at Didcot, was 3 minutes later at Chippenham, and offered an "official" connection. It was then 3 minutes later into Bristol, which was no operational problem - no clashes along the way with other train paths, and it sits in Bristol for eleven minutes before carrying on to Weston-super-mare.  This cannot be done as standard, as the extra Didcot call was because a following train as not running, and now that it's running again, the Bristol train would get in its way!

We have suggested that the 06:28 from Paddington pause for 3 minutes at Swindon, and run 3 minutes later form there to Bristol.  That would make for a 5 minute connection at Chippenham, and a 45 minute journey Melksham to Bristol, as opposed to the current 75 minute (official) journey.  Our suggestion has been turned down - it added 3 minutes to the London to Bristol journey for passengers joining at 06:28 at Paddington and carrying on beyond Swindon - I have no measure of numbers.  The 3 minutes would NOT break connections at Bath to Bradford-on-Avon.  It WOULD break an onward official connection to Filton Abbey Wood, but then as that train also come up through Bath, and official connection could be made there, with a same-platform change rather than a scramble across Temple Meads in just-under-12-minutes.

Although we have not thus far succeeded in persuading GWR to make this change, it's worth asking again bearing in mind the Bath Spa change option for passengers from Swindon and Chippenham to Filton Abbey Wood. But if the London to Bristol time - even at that early hour from London - is paramount, our request may fall on stoney ground.

We HAVE succeeded in getting a better connection into Bristol off the 06:36 - and also an official connection to the Weymouth line - by having that train pulled back to 06:29.   Give a Bristol arrival of 07:28 (59 minute journey) versus 07:48 - a 72 minute journey.  And saves the scrambles between trains that we used to see at Trowbridge (for Bristol) and Westbury (for Weymouth).

Ironically, the question was asked about trains from Melksham - there's a much more serious question about trains back to Melksham, where a missed 'connecting' service at Chippenham or Trowbridge results is a wait of around 2 hours.  I was in London yesterday ... got back to Chippenham and having missed the 15:31, next train not due until 17:50.  No "connection failure" in that case - simply a gap in the timetable.  I knew to take the bus ... which runs 5 times a day (from 15:30 to 17:30) from Chippenham Station. Another story.

 
In answer to a question I was asked yesterday - Where have all the cheap "Advanced Fares" gone?

"Advance Purchase" train tickets - bought ahead of time, only valid on a specified train, and not refundable or changeable were introduced a number of years ago (20 - 30 years?) by the Train Operating Companies. They are offered in limited quantities at a range of prices - cheaper on the least popular trains.   There are no fewer that 46 standard class single fares from Melksham To London, ranging from £19 single to £129 single and a similar first class range.  These are not "regulated" fares; quotas and prices can be changed at any time prior to purchase, though of course GWR will honour tickets sold once your purchase is confirmed.  The model is a similar one to that used by the airline industry, and is typically available for medium and long distance journeys.  Discounts such as railcards apply, so these tickets can be purchased with a third off by many of us.

Full range of Melksham (MKM) to London (PAD) tickets at https://www.brfares.com/!fares?orig=MKM&dest=PAD&period=20260301

It's now far harder to find an attractive low price fare than it was a few years ago.  Why?  Here are some background reasons:

1. Advance fares in their current form were introduced to help fill empty seats some 20 to 30 years ago. Over that time, train journeys in the UK have doubled and there are no longer the empty seats to fill. There are more trains and (on some) more seats, but that has not grown as much as the travelling numbers.

2. Fare money that is specific to a particular train has gone to the franchise operator (from 2006 in Melksham, First Group as Great Western Railway).  Arrangements such as "cap and collar" limited profiteering and supported the company if they made a loss.  But things changed, and these days all the money goes direct to the government, with GWR (First) being paid a management and operating fee and advance tickets no longer are a financial benefit to them over flexible tickets

3. Advance purchase fares have become the "go to" lower cost way of travelling for many people. Friends who work remotely but are London based will plan a day or two in the office well ahead, and will buy ahead of time putting up with some inconvenient timing to save money, in a way they would not do on a daily commute. They sell out quickly if they are available at all

4. It has been noted that people may complain at the higher pricing, but they will pay. And the rail industry needs the money (discussion point in high politics itself). Just because "trains are being nationalised" does not mean that the books don't need to balance!  To a very great extent, the train operating companies are the scapegoats of the system - blames for higher fares when the UK's high fares compared to other countries comes down to national policy.

5. When there are engineering works going on, and trains are thinned, diverted or replaces by buses, capacity is less and fewer if any advance fares are offered.

6. Rail income per passenger mile has dropped; fewer commuters, more people working from home, less "any time" tickets sold.  People using split tickets and being more able to choose the right and best ticket online through multiple outlets. And reducing the Advance quota at low price levels is a way to pump up income.

7. The big "Fares are Frozen this year" announcement - sorry - it does not mean that you won't be paying more.  The freeze is on regulated fares, which these days are less than half the tickets sold - many but not all "walk up" fares.  In my view, an easy marketing line because there are so many other tickets and quotas not regulated, and in a number of cases, other terms and conditions change which render the previous "best value" tickets no longer such good value.  For example, a change from 09:00 to 09:30 for groupsave may felt technical, but it put the price up 50% for a group going out for the day from Melksham to Salisbury on the 09:10. That is a historic example - I don't know is planned for this year in detail. In other areas, return tickets are no longer sold and you have to buy two singles - but we are moving away from the original question here!

In summary - the rail industry requires a greater income, and one of the ways it's generating it is by cutting the availability of lower priced advance fares. The system does help with load balancing, but do not expect to see the average price you pay come down - or even be frozen this year.  Do not expect to see a financial encouragement toward train travel, although fares are unlikely to go up at the rate that fuel prices for cars might rise in a continued oil / environmental crisis.

This report is written from my understanding - and has to be "errors and omissions excepted". You need to check back with the train operator or industry enquiry source to confirm details, though at times they are very coy about some of the best value ways to travel.  Written by Graham Ellis - graham@sn12.net - chair of Melksham Transport User Group.  I am retired and welcome local enquiries about trains and buses

 
Couldn't find a recent thread

3 new Alexander Dennis 100 EV (narrow) buses are now being delivered for Salisbury Red routes, photo of them on the link.


https://bus-news.com/alexander-dennis-delivers-new-enviro100-ev-buses-to-go-south-coast/

I guess these 3 buses are a start to bringing Wiltshire into 21st Century with low carbon transport, although 3 buses with 26 seats each isn't really going to transform a county with 510,000 people

 
From the London Transport Museum website:

 
From the BBC:

 
From the BBC:

 
From the BBC:

 
From the BBC:

 
Perhaps members of this forum could nominate additional stations to host statues and play a part in this "The Line to Legend Land" promotion.

How about... Maiden Newton, a six mile walk from the Cerne Abbas Giant?  Next, we need an appropriate brief for the design of a statue for MDN. Anyone?

Mark

 
I'm sure the report on the incident and the sequence of events that led up to it will make for interesting reading.......

 
From Ento-E

 

Last Thursday I attended the "Wiltshire Sustainable Transport Forum" in Trowbridge

I am (today, Tuesday) on my way home from the GWR and Network Rail briefing in Westminster.

To my knowledge, I was the ONLY person to attend both ...

"What should be is, of course, another matter" 

 
It’s hardly surprising though that none of the 35 stations is in Wiltshire - we know that there are currently no new stations funded / under construction in the county - unlike all of those 35 (36 if you add in Brabazon). What should be is of course another matter.

 
I saw those giants on Sunday, I must admit I had never heard that story before