From tonight's Bath Chronicle. Let's hope it's true and that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) come up with a better working timetable for December's change. We won't have to wait long to see the draft timetable which is due early summer. Hopefully they will do what they did last year and put the draft timetable on their website so everyone who has an interest can comment.

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=163490&command=displayContent&sourceNode=163316&contentPK=17135670&folderPk=89126&pNodeId=163047

Under-fire train operator First Great Western is making a fresh effort to improve services in and around Bath.City MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Don Foster has been lobbying the company to change its timetable for months.

Now the firm has said it has listened to him, and concerns raised by local passengers, and that it is working on a new timetable.

"The company is going to produce a draft timetable which will go to public consultation in the early summer and which is due to start in December," Mr Foster said yesterday.

"I am optimistic that the four things we in Bath need to happen are likely to be included in that draft timetable.

"The only point of caution is that even if First wants to do these things, it has to get approval from Network Rail and the Government."

In the past six weeks Mr Foster has held three separate meetings with the firm and says it is redrafting the timetable for services serving Bath and the west.

He says the new timetables will include:

Increased, and better-spaced, services between Bath and Bristol, especially at peak times;

Better-spaced services between Bath, Trowbridge and Westbury and more stops at Freshford station;

Improved connection at Bath between commuter and high speed trains;

An increased service between Bath and Abbey Wood.

"If we get offered all of these things by First we will need to shift our lobbying attentions to Network Rail and the Government," said Mr Foster.

"The other good thing is that all this would strengthen the case for reopening Corsham station.

"Since taking over the rail franchise First group has had an appalling record.

"I think there might now be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel - although we will have to waitand see."

A First Great Western spokesman said the firm had listened to Mr Foster's views and those of commuters and was keen to maintain an ongoing dialogue.

He said: "We can confirm we will be revising our service timings and patterns to strengthen local services and connections in and around Bath.

"Work is also due to start soonon the refurbishment and enhancement of Bath Spa station."

First Great Western took over the regional franchise last year and in December introduced a new timetable which saw services between Bath and Bristol slashed.

The move prompted a passenger revolt and in January, hundreds of people boarded trains without paying fares in protest.

Since then passenger groups and politicians have been meeting with the company, urging them to rethink their services.

Yesterday Tony Ambrose, of protest group More Train, Less Strain, which led January's fare strike, welcomed the news.

"It's great they're improving the timetable and suggests First is starting to listen to its users but it is still running old rolling stock which breaks down frequently," he said.

"This means there's nothing to fall back on to and unless they put money into the rolling stock, services will not progress."

Mr Ambrose said campaigners were still very concerned about services to Melksham and Frome and wanted commitment from First that those services would also be improved.

The First spokesman said: "Trains will always break down from time to time.

"But we have increased our investment in technical modifications and internal refurbishment on the whole West Country regional fleet from ^1m to ^4m.

"It's too early to say what the timetables for Frome and Melksham will be.

"But it's unlikely we will increase the number of trains going to Melksham unless we get some form of sponsorship from a third party to make it financially viable."

ENDS

When the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) franchise was let it was announced that there would be NO new rolling stock during the life of the franchise. Surely the Dft dont expect these life expired 143s to last another 8 years in service or are they hoping the ROSCOS will come up with a new cheap alternative?

Why is Northern allowed to have our 158s so they can lay off their 142s? It just dont make sense!

Like I said in an earlier post above, breakdowns will continue with these units until they are replaced. Train managers, drivers and maintanance staff must hate them more than the passengers!

Until 143s are replaced sadly we will continue to see this happen. They were never designed for heavy commuter usage and are long overdue for replacement but they are cheap and thats why they still run on our rails. Its relief for Portsmouth and Weymouth passengers that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) cant run them to these destinations because they are banned from Sounthern metals but long suffering Bristol commuters/rail staff have to put up with them everyday.

I see from the Oldfield Park blog that things didnt go too well for local commuters in the Bath area this morning and one of my colleagues was late for work as a result.

http://oldfieldparktrains.blogspot.com/

Anyone know why the 6.47 ex Frome got cancelled?

Many thanks for the update Whistleblower, sad though the news was. Also sad to say that I expected that this would be the case and that when I go to Weymouth these days it's by car now. Im sure im not the only one who would prefer to go by train, but being crammed into a 150 or 158 with dodgy air con doesnt make for a good start or end to a day out. Hardly encouraging people to use public transport for a day out/holiday. And yes the 19.58 service can be an interesting experience!

It was never the same since the ending of loco and coaches which always had plenty of space for day trippers and people going on holiday. Im not surprised this line is not one of FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s top priorities and that they will only ever run what they are required to which is fair enough if they are maintaining the timetable that was given to them; it just doesnt encourage further usage that's all.

Thought this would interest rail users in Wiltshire from tonight's Bath Chronicle:

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=180730&command=displayContent&sourceNode=227209&contentPK=17087318&folderPk=106757&pNodeId=227220

Under-fire train operator First Great Western has come in for yet more criticism.

Wiltshire County Council says the company's performance since it introduced a new timetable in December has been "poor" and councillors are vowing to keep up the pressure on the operator.

Rail users in Bath, Wiltshire and the wider west region have launched a series of protests and petitions since the introduction of the new timetable. They said the service provided by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had fallen to an unacceptable standard, with fewer trains offering an unreliable and overcrowded service.

Members of Wiltshire County Council's overview and scrutiny committee were prompted to look into the issue of rail travel after concerns were expressed by local people.

At a recent meeting, councillors debated issues such as fare increases, overcrowding and reduced services.

The council also discussed how the greatly reduced level of train service at Melksham in the new timetable was likely to cut the number of rail passengers, which could in turn put in peril proposed improvements at the station.

The county council has previously proposed to link the station with the A350, improve parking and integrate the station with bus services. However, it has now indicated that such changes "would cease to be viable" should the number of rail users in the town decrease.

Cllr Jeff Osborn, chairman of the overview and scrutiny committee, said: "It is important that continued pressure is applied on First Great Western and the Government over poor performance as a result of the new franchise timetable.

"As such, the scrutiny role of the county council is vital in allowing elected members to gain a greater understanding of the issues and represent the concerns of the public."

A council spokesman added: "Unfortunately the county council has no direct power over the rail industry. However, it will continue to push for a solution that mitigates the impacts where possible, including working with others to make the case for Wiltshire."

At the end of March, FGW boss Alison Forster admitted the company had "made some mistakes" when it took over the rail franchise for Bath and the south west.

She added: "What you have to do when you get things wrong is you've got to learn and put them right.

"We believe we've done both of those things. We're well within all our franchise commitments with the Government, we're meeting with what they expect us to do, so we may be better than others that never make a mistake."

The company was awarded the train services franchise for the region by the Government in December.

Ends

Thats a shame for anyone from stations before Westbury who wanted to head to Weymouth for the day by train which is the best way as Weymouth has a chronic traffic problem in the summer months.

First I've ever known a timetabled summer sunday service that hasnt covered stations Bristol-Westbury before heading to Weymouth. Up until recently it was down on the journey planner as having started from Bristol, allbeit rather earlier than in previous years, but now as you say it appears as down to start from Westbury only.

How are the summer Saturday services looking? Has FGW^▸ (First Great Western) removed the additional services that Wessex ran last year: 8.54 Westbury-Weymouth and 16.42 Weymouth - Bristol?