Great Western Coffee Shop

Following a successful first online meeting yesterday, the Melksham Rail User Group will meet again online on Wednesday, 10th June 2020.   I will follow up here with a zoom meeting invite in our course.

It was excellent to see people there - including our friends and supporters from out of town.  To me, it really felt that we gained far more from being online and having everyone along that we lost by not being together in the same room.

Meeting at 16:00 ... entry via waiting room from 15:45, monitoring until a few minutes after 16:00
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/76150215296?pwd=RHlmdUtETkh4d28rdlkwM2I0MllEQT09
Informally "registering" for this event - love newcomers, but please get in touch ahead of time if you're not known to me.

Wednesday 10th June 2020, Melksham Rail User Group online meeting/chat via Zoom. All welcome

* Report on Melksham Hub
* New Public Transport face mask / social distancing rules
* Current public transport, any changes this weekend or soon?
* Looking further forward
* Stations cleans, leaflets, newsletters, meetings, outings

Meeting at 16:00 ... entry via waiting room from 15:45, monitoring until a few minutes after 16:00
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/76150215296?pwd=RHlmdUtETkh4d28rdlkwM2I0MllEQT09
Informally "registering" for this event - love newcomers, but please get in touch ahead of time if you're not known to me.

Notes from MRUG Informal Zoom meeting   10th June 2020

Present: Geoff Ewell, Graham Ellis, Roger Witt, John Glover, Lee Fletcher, John Hamley

Brief outline of discussion:

TRAINS
•    Most TW services now running Monday to Saturday, with  Sunday services expected to start 12th July. Complete timetabled service expected mid September.
•   In past month, all services had very low demand in line with instructions for "essential journeys only. Lack of Sunday service from Melksham has inconvenienced some key workers in Swindon
•   Usage now expected to include   additional non-key workers, thereby increasing demand
•   Further relaxation of train usage advice may be made once non-essential stores reopen, again increasing demand
•   Low timetabled frequencies have resulted in excellent reliability in May, based on data for the TransWilts line only. (The TransWilts did have one incident of animals on the line at Wootton Bassett)
•   Face masks for passengers will be required soon
•   Next direct award  expected to include two addition trips on TW per day (not sure if this is two return trips), one is expected to include a late Swindon to Westbury journey
•   Hoped for TW Infrastructure upgrades to allow 1 train per hour each way, may be assisted by the need for additional freight traffic for HS2

BUSES CURRENT
•   273 running daytime - hourly Monday to Saturday, every 2 hours on Sunday, and not currently serving Shaw Hill, Bathford or Batheaston.
•   x34 running Monday to Saturday - hourly. No Sunday service
•   68/69 running 2 services a day Monday to Saturday
•   14 running a Saturday service
•   15, x76, 271, 272 and  402 not running

BUSES FUTURE
•   Status of Marlborough to RUH service (grant funded) not clear
•   Double-deckers (or in some cases two single-deckers) will be used on Melksham to Bath where needed for capacity. Shortage of buses (and drivers) may be a constraint here.
•   There is a possibility of buses serving Melksham station in September

CYCLING/WALKING
•   More cycling and walking noticed in town recently
•   Town Bridge – works completed but social distancing concerns. The town council  is pressing for one way pedestrian markings to help cyclists and wheelchairs using the bridge.
•   Grant money available for cycling / walking short term works – no suitable schemes for phase 1 in Melksham, WC going ahead with schemes in Chippenham and Salisbury

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN for MELKSHAM
•   Consultation until 13th July, please submit response
•   Calls for station to be transport Hub – good
•   Call for buses to stop in station – good
•   Call for enhanced train service – good (error in Plan states that there is currently an hourly service each way)
•   Call for better cycle/pedestrian facilities -good

PUBLICITY and OTHER
•   MRUG website give virus advice to travellers, to be updated to include facemasks
•   No local timetables to be distributed this summer, services subject to change
•   Poster boards in station and town centre have been updated to refer to website
•   Melksham quiz keeps MRUG and train service in front of everyone, can be accessed from Facebook (~500 quiz visitors so far)
•   When appropriate, a station clean /tidy up will be carried out

NEXT ZOOM SESSION to be held 16:00 8th July

Updating the thread ... National Express resumes next Monday ... that's now all buses and coach back, just a few trains still missing.   Full timetables at http://melksh.am/go . Been a real moving feast trying to keep up with all the changes.

Did I tell you about road works next week diverting the68, 69, 271 and 272 middle of the day