This thread has been quiet for a week - which, sadly, does not mean that the issue has been resolved and addressed for the people who live at Dilton Marsh and used to use the train that GWR has culled in the evening peak.   While there was a chance of a resolution that worked for everyone, even for the customers, the WWRUG committee has been working the issue, and I / we have restrained from getting rather upset with GWR in public.

 
It was very unfortunate that we only heard back from GWR on this very close indeed to Christmas. It felt like a "send and run" email of the sort sent just before someone goes off on holiday, with the intent of the livid recipient cooling off, and opportunities gone, before there's a chance to answer.

While there remains a chance (being optimistic) that a resolution can be found for the return to work on 5th January, I'm not sharing the GWR letter and the WWRUG response in public, but I did want anyone reading here on the Coffee Shop's public boards to be aware that we're working on it.

 

Substantive follow up received at 8 O'clock last night (Tuesday) - and after I had visited supermarkets (plural) to find and gather supplies to see us through into the new year, come home, unpacked and imbibed some juice from the Laughing Llama.  On Christmas Eve, realistically, no point / prospect of taking it further before everyone involved heads home for Christmas; it's a good day to release bad news, isn't it?

To differentiate though - the fiasco of the loss of this train from Dilton Marsh leaving a peak hole in the service there, and my criticism of how it was done and advised, takes nothing from my thought and respect for the different groups of people who ARE out there on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and at other times looking after and replacing infrastructure, and also for that group of people who are there in operational roles - drivers, train managers and station staff who we come across when we travel.   To all of those much larger groups - thank you for what you do; I know some of you share the frustration of the passengers.

But yet - I do not differentiate in wishing everyone a happy Christmas.  I look forward to working positively and in partnership with everyone, and that includes those whose decisions we may not agree with, and their unfortunate consequences.  Let's look forward to finding how things work for everyone for 2026.

 
Curiouser and curiouser - the new (December 2025 to May 2026) timetable displayed at Dilton Marsh includes the train



Let me zoom in on that



And my correspondent writes :



It has been suggested that in place of this train, GWR might like to stop the Portsmouth-Cardiff service that runs prior at Dilton Marsh - which (it is suggested) very often has to wait for a platform at Westbury and so may as well stop at DMH rather than in the countryside just outside Westbury.

 

Received this afternoon ... will follow up with further follow up(s).  So far, so good

 

Indeed ... hoping to go beyond guesses.  Layover is 13 minutes in Westbury.  I have asked the GWR managers if they can assist us in letting us know why the service was withdrawn from passenger use, how customers were asked and told, and what alternatives they suggest people use.  I will follow up here to let members know the answers.

 
I am sure you have worked this out but:

the service WMN to BRI still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc. 

 
In the new timetable that started this Monday, there's no longer an 18:30-ish train to Bristol - a well used service ("it always stops" - local report) but rather a gap from about half past five until twenty to eight.

This means the people who live in Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh can no longer easily attend some evening meetings / events in Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Bath.   It means that people returning home from Southampton (at 17:15) or Salisbury (at 17:45) to Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh no longer have a connection at Warminster, but rather don't arrive home until over an hour later.

I saw nothing in any of the online or other briefings to reflect this change, I saw and heard of no consultation, and I have seen no explanation nor customer alternative offered.  At a West Wiltshire Rail User Group committee lunch yesterday, it seems the cutting out of this train has come as a surprise to the users of Dilton Marsh Station too.

Before throwing a "wobbly" - either from myself or others - does anyone here know of a explanation for what appears to be the culling of a popular train without any process of asking, informing, or perhaps thinking of the customers?