Great Western Coffee Shop

Note for regular readers / forum members - I will be directing newcomers to this post. - follow up tips most welcome!

Do you realise that there are 763 public transport departures from Melksham to other towns every week?  That's 128 on a weekday, 98 on Saturdays and 25 on Sundays?   Chances are you don't need to take your car - you can ride the bus or the train.   But we have no fewer that six public transport operators, each with separate timetables, and travel planning for a new journey can be a nightmare.

Here is a table of the direct departures to Bath, Bradford-on-Avon, Calne, Chippenham, Corsham,  Devizes and Trowbridge, listing out the operators on each route and the numbr of services each runs on each day of the week.  At the base, you'll find the routes to connect to other major destinations - Bristol and London - with a note of where to change. In all the suggested connections, through tickets are available.

Below the chart is a series of links to timetables for each service, listed by route number.  Please ask the Melksham TIC on 01225 707424 or TransWilts, or ask here, or contact the operators - details in the timetables - if you would like help working out this data

Service tables and frequencies


Faresaver X72 - http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5a5cbfdf54e5b.pdf
Faresaver X34 - http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5a6e19063566a.pdf
Faresaver 68 & 69 - http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5a6e1a5154a90.pdf
Frome Minibus x69 - also at http://www.faresaver.co.uk/timetables/5a6e1a5154a90.pdf
First D3 - https://www.firstgroup.com/uploads/node_images/d3%20discover%20tt%20leaflet%20web.pdf
AD Rains X76 - https://bustimes.org/services/x76-marlborough-ruh-bath
National Express 402 - https://bustimes.org/services/402-london-frome
GWR trains - http://www.gwr.com/~/media/gwr/pdfs/timetables/2018/may/b05,-d-,web.pdf

For reference - redirection from https://www.facebook.com/melkshambus/posts/348886562182569

Very last line - I'd be tempted to say Change at Chippenham or Swindon.  In most cases you end up on the same train and at busy times are more likely to get a seat at Chippenham than Swindon.   Both are cross platform.

Always a tricky one ... I tend to recommend Swindon as - during times of disruption - there's more onward options. Also noting that the busiest trains of the day - 07:20 and 07:49 - give you a 25 minute wait if you change at Chippenham - on days that are running to time, Swindon connects you to London 17 and 12 minutes earlier.   

Advance tickets do tend to make you change at Chippenham, and on the way back it's a good idea to change at Chippenham if you're on a train that calls there - saves a platform change at Swindon, and means that you're at Chippenham ready for alternative transport if the connection's failed or the Westbury Flyer is cancelled.

Update - bus service x76 (Marlborough - Calne - Melksham - Bath - RUH) will be operated by Swindon's Bus Company rather than ADRains from 29th July 2019.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/x76_20190729.jpg)