What of the TransWilts service beyond the three years? The current service should be rolled into the next franchise / ongoing arrangements if it does well, and there's our long term trains. But is that enough - a steady state step - or do we need to look further?
phase is being offered, and I've sent the following through to the key folks who are looking at further LSTF bids for Wiltshire - shared here for constructive comment and further ideas and tuning as I would be hoping for community involvement again as the bid is developed.
Dear Rob and John,
Firstly, a big "Thank you" for everything so far in the LSTF program. It feels like a great new world! Lots of positive feedback and a real good news story that benefits all parties!
The current LSTF program - "Improving Wiltshire's Rail Offering" is still in its early days in many ways, but is showing excellent signs. The bid spoke of further plans for a "phase 2" and now is the time to consider these ... bringing in Warminster and Salisbury to the train service, thus covering the six largest urban areas in (postal) Wiltshire, improving the service to meet other flows and growing demand. There will be a single window of opprtunity when train service are recast and stock cascaded in a couple of years time and that fits in with the new LSTF program, which can bring central government money for investment in Wiltshire.
The document below is a set of working suggestions to be investigated - a vision rather than any form of authoritative statement that any particular idea will work. That's what LSTF2 is looking for at the moment.
LSTF 1 is going very well - everyone is learning and pulling together for the economic good and sustainability of Wiltshire, and the customers love it. Let's build on our experience and carry on with this "win-win" formula
Graham
Graham Ellis -
graham@atrebatia.infoPress and publicity, TransWilts Community Rail Partnership
TransWilts
CRP▸ , 48, Spa Road, Melksham, Wilts, SN12 7NY
http://atrebatia.info - 0845 459 0153
---------------------- Looking forward - a possible second LSTF bid to build on achievements to date ------------------
** Background
A further series of LSTF (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) grants is to be awareded for a follow on period after the current series - offering income from central government to local authorities /
LEPs» , for the purpose of improving transport, sustainability, quality of life and the economic progress and wellbeing of areas served, their residents, businesses and leisure visitors.
In Wiltshire, we are in the process of implementing the schemes funded under the current LSTF system, with the largest of those schemes - the 'backbone' of an improved rail service from Swindon to Westbury - running for just six weeks so far, and that period including Christmas and exceptional weather which has tested out resilliance to the full.
Initial indicators are promising - in terms of numbers of passengers, in terms of just how well the public transport operator, the council and the community are working together, and in terms of the very positive response indeed from the public.
From Facebook:
"Louise Langdon: "I used the direct service from Trowbridge to Swindon what a brilliant route . . . . More fab ideas like this needed x""
** Looking forward
Looking forward within the current LSTF period and schemes, there are a series of excellent improvements in the pipeline which will continue to increase the uptake / use of the new rail and associated other services. However, we should also be looking ahead - beyond the three years. Will the service have the capacity to handle the passengers who want to use it? And how can we reach other potential users who we know we've not been able to accommodate in the first phase, but for whom the first phase has provided a step towards a useful solution.
Logic is to look to a second LSTF bid, and that fits well in with:
* Government currently offering a following LSTF phase
* Much of the groundwork done in terms of studies for phase 2
* Phase 1 actually looked to the future - phase 2 will be joined up thinking
* Upcoming regional changes within the rail industry make schemes that fell outside the box last time much more cost effective now
* Rail use in Wiltshire (not just the on the TransWilts) continues to grow
* We have an experienced community / rail / council / LEP team to carry on
* We have a supportive community and this makes for a real good news story
* Social and economic gains from a further scheme will be exceptionally good
* A small spend will get more big results - just completing the works
* and at the same time enabling for potential future improvements
** Individual elements that could / should be included
* Extend services south from Westbury to Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury
* Increase frequency from every 2 hours to every hour
* Replace current train with cascaded trains from lines being electrified to the West of London
I have bracked those three because they link
Currently the services run from Swindon, calling at Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, and Westbury. By extending to Salisbury and calling at Warminster on the way, a truely TransWilts service would be provided; Salisbury, Chippenham, Trowbridge, Melksham and Warminster are the five largest urban areas in Wiltshire, with ever closer economic and social links, and there is wide logic in linking all five of them with a regular direct service, and continuing that service to Swindon which is the main hub urban connurbation of our LEP.
An increase from 2 hourly to hourly will allow flows that have just missed being met in phase 1 to be met in phase 2. For example, employees commuting to work a '9 to 5' day in Melksham / Trowbridge / Westbury / Warminster from Swindon / Chippenham / Melksham would now be catered for.
The rail industry is electrifying around London and via Chippenham and already has plans to phase out trains such as our current "153" unit from the area, replacing such trains with class 165 and 166 trains. These are wider, but funding is already in plan (and not a Wiltshire Council spend!) to allow them clearance on all
FGW▸ services that pass through Wiltshire with the exception of the daily service (2 back) to Brighton. The new trains are also 2 or 3 cars, and class 165/1 and 166 have a top speed of 90 mph rather than 75 - significant between Chippenham and Swindon, and between Warminster and Salisbury.
Replacement of diesel with electric trains at Swindon and Chippenham, and a recast of services at Westbury, where final details remain unclear but there will have to be major changes, give the opportunity to sort out services in the area, and that includes the TransWilts services.
PROPOSAL for LSTF (2). Support replacement on 153 with 165/1, extend to Salisbury and increase to hourly. Services south of Westbury to replace existing oddball FGW services, many of which provide short workings to meet specific connection needs with the West of England. This will release one or two units at various times through the day (including peaks) so there will be minimal net increase in the number of trains in use - just better use of them.
Other effects of this proposal
- Dilton Marsh - hourly service to Salisbury, Trowbridge, Swindon
- Connections sorted out at Westbury (WoE and Weymouth)
- Enabling work for hourly train to call at Royal Wootton Bassett
- Enabling work for 2 trains per hour to call at Wilton Park and Ride
- Link in Romsey - Salisbury train to Salisbury - Swindon?
- ... and that would enable timings to allow Swindon - Oxford extension
The latter two are regionally attractive!
There is a great deal of technical work and questions here, but in terms on infrastructure, robustness, stock, economics, connections, usefulness, it all works. We have already seen 33 trains per day fitted along the narrow (single line) section from Thingley to Westbury [27th December 2013] and this calls for no more. Signalling changes to allow 2 trains to follow (but
ERTMS▸ is coming anyway?) will increase capacity, and the higher speed and better acceleation of new trains will give further improvements. Junction and Westbury alterations may already be on the radar under separate plans for an increase in freight ...
* Warminster station link
Many areas of Warminster are well away from the station, and a Warminster Rail link along the lines of the Melksham Rail Link may be benefitial. Something to keep in review and see how Melksham works
* Funding CRP
We hope that Wiltshire Council and First Great Western have found CRP inputs and help useful. Through this initial phase we are funded by the remenants of a grant from 2011 for the studies made that year, but we will need to look at other funding sources in the future; it's our intent to give good value for money in terms of marking and support of services as they grow. Come later phases, it may be that our job is largely done and the CRP and funding could scale back as the services are mainstream established and supported (i.e. part of the franchise)
* Adding fares to information systems
* Adding public / private journeys to information systems
As well as providing services, information about those services is needed. Connecting Wiltshire is doing an excellent job, but extensions to provide fare and ticketing information, and 'mixed mode' journeys that cover a drive to a station followed by public transport, would make a significant difference. This may not be trivial work but with technology progress it becomes more practical. Mixed mode journeys should now be practical for Wiltshire because of its geography and the limited number of hub / interchanges involved.
* Quality Bus schemes and linkage
Improved station facilities and connections allow for better connectional journeys and it's good to see rail tickets being accepted on the 234 bus when there's no suitable train service. That makes sense for both rail and bus long term usage and prosperity.
Bus route groups can be reviewed in certain areas; of knowledge to the author is the Melksham services, where co-operative rearrangements of services 69/Zigzag, 234 x34 236 x72 271 and 272 can (our calculations) provide extra service coverage and more farebox income, whilst meeting all social needs and saving vehicles. It's unclear whether vehicle savings are in the interest of all of the operators in the short term, but in the medium and sustainable long term better efficientcey is in the interest of us all.
With station improvements and already a start on acceptance of cross tickets, other schedules and routes to be adjusted. e.g. service 15 calls at Asda (5 minutes walk to Melksham station) 2 minutes before the train leaves ...
* Westbury a hub
Swindon / Chippenham / Melksham (and Trowbridge / Bradford-on-Avon / Warminster / Salisbury) to Frome, Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth, Yeovil and Weymouth are important traffic flows - all "via Westbury". Westbury -> Weymouth services have got progressively busier over the years and we should look to LSTF and other schemes to facilitate (or at least not to block) clockface connections. For example, the hourly Swindon to Salisbury service to connect at Westbury with the hourly local Bristol to Westbury (and onwards to Heart of Wessex) service / cross platform, both ways. Onward hourly service to Frome would seem logical, and perhaps beyond - work with Somerset on this? Their LSTF bid? Links to South west also very important.
* And Also
This is not a definitive list ^ it's a starting point, and there can be many more inputs from Swindon through to Salisbury ^
** Conclusion
A raft of extra measures, selected from the above and perhaps with additions (there is preparation work to be done) should form the basis of Wiltshire Council's next LSTF bid. "Carry on the excellent work". We have a team that knows what it's doing, and early signs are that it is delivering results.
