End of trial period

[whole diary]

[John R]

Just passed the 0849 from SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) reminded me that this is the last week of the 3 year trial period. I wonder if it has been a success?

[grahame]

Just passed the 0849 from SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) reminded me that this is the last week of the 3 year trial period. I wonder if it has been a success?

The three year trial was funded through an LSTF^▸ (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) grant. There was potential for the trial service to continue as a permanently franchised service beyond the third year if the Department for Transport declared it a success upon review during that final year.  As the service does indeed continue unchanged as a permananent part of the franchise beyond 10th December, rather than reverting to trains at 06:12 and 18:44 from Swindon, and 07:04 and 19:35 from Westbury, with nothing in between, we can conclude that the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) consider it a success.

Locally, passenger numbers have been buoyant throughout the three years. Official concerns in the early day that the numbers were a "flash in the pan" and would quickly peak and decay proved to be illfounded. If you travel on the train today, you'll find almost every train busy well in excess of the goal of 20 passengers per train on the section unique to the TransWilts, and if you talk to the passengers you'll learn that for many of them it's a fundamnetal part of their day to day life and livelyhood. That's a success in my view.

The 19:36 from Swindon next Saturday is the very last run of the trial - and a big "Thank You" to Wiltshire Council for proposing this for an LSTF grant, and for providing some matching for service support, and also for their contribution last year to the day to day running costs of the CRP^▸ (Community Rail Partnership).  As we move forward under the new franchise model, I'm delighted at what this limited term seed funding was able to develop to the point that its job is done, and very happy to thank the Melksham Area Board of Wiltshire Council, Melksham Town Council and Melksham Without Parish Council and the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) CCIF^▸ (Customer and Communities Improvement Fund) fund for their match funding of preparatory works for a significantly improved station at Melksham, where the passenger numbers are slowing down single door train operation at peaks, and are causing us concerns due to their volume on Station Approach.  This willingness to continue to support, all be it in different ways, the continuing service is an indication that the various councils and GWR also consider the service to be a success.

[grahame]

A follow up Facebook post for consumption by a wider audience:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154842475762094&set=a.81959612093.79463.814747093&type=3&theater

It's "all change" on the TransWilts after the 19:36 train from Swindon to Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury this Saturday - that's 10th December 2016, and the 19:36 is the very last train to be run as part of a three year trial of extra trains on the line, funded by a local sustainable transport fund grant, which was sponsored by Wiltshire Council and operated by Great Western Railway.

But the news is excellent, because starting the following morning - Sunday 11th December - the trains will continue as a PERMANENT part of the Great Western Railway franchise. Times won't change, operator won't change, fares won't change, train won't change - at least initially. But things do change behind the scenes, and what has been the best service that could be achieved under "LSTF^▸ (Local Sustainable Transport Fund)" becomes the new base service on which we can build further in coming years. "We are very pleased that (from this coming Sunday!) the service is in the franchise and its future is secured. Now…onto planning the next improvement!" writes Dan Okey, Regional Development Manager - West for Great Western Railway to me.

In the New Year we (that's GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) and the community working with the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and other rail organisations) are planning an announcement of some quite small measures which can make a big difference for some passengers and prospective passengers as the first fruits of the service becoming permanent and officially "designated". Already announced plans for the next year or two look to an extra carriage on those trains that are just one carriage at present, and to an extra very early morning service to Swindon starting in 2018. Exploration of options to further increase the service, for it to continue onwards to serve other destinations, and for improvements at Melksham Station where we're headed towards the operational capacity limit with current facilities, are all actively and officially under way.

A very large number of people have been involved in getting us where we are today. A big "thank you" to Paul Johnson, Lee Fletcher, Peter Blackburn and dozens of others on the community team - without any one of those three, and without other so many others too numerous to name, we wouldn't have reached this happy day. A big "thank you" to Richard Gamble, David Phillps, Duncan Hames and many others on the council / government / political front - without the active support of any one of these three or others too numerous to name, we wouldn't have reached this happy day. And without the huge support from our many friends in the railway business - primarily Great Western Railway but in associated organisations too - we wouldn't be here either.

Figures announced by the Office of Rail and Road on Tuesday for passenger journeys from stations right across Great Britain for the year to April show Melksham - served only by the TransWilts - with the highest percentage growth in the region for the third year in succession. To achieve highest growth in any one year is good, to achieve it multiple years in succession is excellent, and to continue to achieve it in a year when the service in the six peak weeks of the summer holiday was removed / replaced / bustituted because of engineering works is truley remarkable. We have to wait another year to see the current comparable figure, but from personal observation I think we're on course to be at or near the top of the table yet again next year.

The next franchise to operate trains in the Great Western area is scheduled to be awarded in about three years time. I personally first got involved 11 years ago at a previous franchise consultation, the outcome of which was a disaster for the TransWilts which ended up with a very limited (and frankly near-useless for most potential users) service that took years of hard work to correct. We live in different times now, with TransWilts no longer being at the bottom of the pile as far as either passenger numbers or visibility is concerned, so I'm not fearful of a repeat of the December 2006 timetable change. However, the community's work is far from done and we need to continue to build to that point, and to review changes across our area and connecting services - we remain a relativley small local services in a stormy sea of current changes, and we need to look after our stall and the links to it.

Although more public transport journey miles are covered by rail than by road in Wiltshire, there's more bus than train journeys made. (Bus journeys average 6 miles against 20 miles by train). The future shape of bus services in the county looks far from assured for the medium term, and indeed I know of several short term issues too. Wiltshire Council have reduced their cutbacks on bus subsidy to just 10% next year from the minimum of 50% proposed and that opens a window of opportunity for them - with community help if we can work with them in the same wy that we've worked with them and the industry on rail - to move to a much more appropriate network for the future that can grow its way out of the threat of cuts - for the common good of the local economy, the bus operators, and the people who live here. And this isn't just about the quieter (subsidised) buses - several operators that I know have routes operated from / to / within Wiltshire which are on a knife edge and aren't currently council supported. Potentially very difficult decisions await the council next year if these key elements of the public transport are threatened with withdrawal.

Back to rail ... I look forward to further growth, year on year, on the TransWilts service anc connections and extensions. Indicators are that we can and will continue to grow from our new, permanent base for years to come, provided that we all continue to work together and supply builds to match demand.

2017 starts with services as follows:

** Monday to Friday

from Swindon at 06:12, 08:49, 10:47, 12:47, 13:19, 15:12, 17:36, 18:48 and 20:06, calling at Chippenham around 17 minutes later, Melksham around 27 minutes later, Trowbrige around 37 minutes later and arriving at Westbury around 48 minutes later.

from Westbury at 07:04, 07:33, 09:49, 11:47, 12:20, 14:14, 16:21, 18:32 and 19:32, calling at Trowbridge 6 minutes later, Melksham 16 minutes later, Chippenham 26 minutes later and arriving at Swindon around 48 minutes later.

** Saturday

from Swindon at 08:36, 10:36, 12:36, 14:36, 15:22, 17:36, 19:36 and 21:08

from Westbury at 07:32, 08:22, 09:30, 11:32, 13:32, 15:06, 16:33 and 18:32

** Sunday

from Swindon at 11:28, 13:28, 15:28, 17:18 and 19:53

from Westbury at 10:30, 12:30, 14:35, 16:20, 18:39 and 19:41

Saturday and Sunday trains have the same intermediate calling pattern as the Monday to Friday trains, but please check online prior to travel for occasional changes due to engineeering works. Tickets can be bought at time of travel - at the station or on the train if you can't get what you need prior to boarding.

I'm planning to travel on that final LSTF supported train on Saturday evening as a quiet reflection of how far we've come in the last three years. No 'event' planned but I'll love to stop and chat with those people who've made it work at the grass roots - the passengers and operational staff.

[Adelante_CCT]

2017 starts with services as follows:...

...Melksham around 27 minutes lates,...

Graham is predicting the punctuality already

[grahame]

2017 starts with services as follows:...

...Melksham around 27 minutes lates,...

Graham is predicting the punctuality already

Fixed.  Later. 

[ChrisB]

If you check the latest franchise calendar, you might notice that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is marked to end in 2020, rather than 2019.....seems the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) are availing themselves of the extension period. Can't find the link to the webpage right now, but I was shown this last night

[grahame]

If you check the latest franchise calendar, you might notice that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) is marked to end in 2020, rather than 2019.....

The fact that some diagrams are now showing the franchise with the extension taken only came to my attention after I had written the article.  As an educated guess, if indeed that happens and if the clause(s) added to the franchise included the extension for the TransWilts. this would secures the service to 2020.   Educated guesses are useful, but rock solid confirmations would be better;  we have those to 2019 and I think I'll leave the post as-is.

[grahame]

The big quoted article on Facebook has drawn some interest and constructive comment from service users and wannabe users, and such is / are critical to its continued success and development.   As things tend to fade all too quickly on Facebook, I'm quoting the comments that go beyond "hey - it's great" here for longevity, and would welcome any professional / other user / wider area experience feedback too!

Cracking service, just wish the service went straight through to Bristol, the lack of free parking anywhere other than Melksham makes the train non viable for my work commute every day, if the service went straight through to Bristol I'd be a daily user

The ex-trial service has become the base on which we can build for the future, and Bath and Bristol are major destinations that people wish to reach. For the foreseeable future, journeys to Bristol will continue to require a change at Chippenham or Trowbridge, with improved connections and hopefully some more trains increasing the service above the 18 a day with changes that are already there; we are aware that 40% of potential traffic is lost at a change of trains, but practically the train can only go to one direct destination each way.

But we are aware that passengers travelling to Melksham from Bristol and Bath haven't been well informed as to whether they have to change at Chippenham or at Trowbridge, so from 11th December the printed "A to Z" sheets at both Bristol Temple Meads and at Bath Spa will include Melksham as a destination so that you can easily see which train to catch when coming back to the town.

Awesome work. I moved to Melksham 15 months ago. I commute to London on regular basis. Having local train service was a definite “check in the plus column” when looking for a rural town to move in to.

Certainly more service is better than less from a commuters point of view, but the other side of the coin is the economics. However, it seems to me that the service through Melksham could be increased substantially for zero added costs.

The Swindon to Westbury round trip is about 2 hours. Of that, 40 minutes is between Swindon and Chippenham. Suppose the Swindon-Westbury-Swindon train just became Chippenham-Westbury-Chippenham train. In an 8 hour day that train could make 6 round trips instead of only 4.

The schedule changes often, but last time I counted there were 32 trains between Chippenam and Swindon, not counting any service through Melksham. Passengers headed to Swindon from Melksham, or further south, would have to change at Chippenham but would have a very short wait at any time of day. On top of that consider that these passengers have additional travel times available to get to Chippenham.

Lastly, turning around at Chippenham gets this small one carriage train off of the main line much sooner. This opens up a travel slot for one of the big trains increasing the capacity of the main line

many thanks for that idea. You may have noticed that when GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) ra an operational trial on 9th September for later evening service, it was turned back at Chippenham. And, yes, it worked well. But there are a number of things which stack up against the idea on an all day, every day basis:

1. The majority of passengers arriving into Chippenham from Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury remain on the train to Swindon Experience elsewhere is that you loose over 40% of your direct passengers if you add a change, and we see no difference on that with regards the TransWilts - in fact we want to extend southwards from Westbury to overcome the issue there. Passengers who already change at Swindon of Reading an London probably wouldn't mind (except - see point 2); those for Didcot may find they needed a second change at Swindon onto a train that actually stops at Didcot

2. If you turn the train around at Chippenham, it would have to be at the main platform ... which means it would either need to arrive and depart again before people could connect on again to Swindon, or arrive and depart at the other platform after the connection from London had arrived. You would only be able to schedule a "very short wait" in one direction at any time of day, and our flows are very much 2 way.

3. There are no side tracks at Chippenham and in the event of anything running late, you couldn't get the TransWilts train out of the way. Remember there's freight around as well

4. The business case for the current train service is made by the traffic from Trowbridge and to a lesser extent Westbury, and with a change that might not be quick at Chippenham you reduce the attractiveness of the service to passengers from those stations through to Swindon - they'll go via Bath where the change is onto a different platform and so can be quicker as both trains can call at the same time.

There are good arguments both ways ... as it stands at present, the argument comes down in favour of running to Swindon most of the time as the majority of passengers want to go there and resources at Swindon allow a quick turn around and rapid connections both ways. A better solution to frequency is a second train which passes the first every hour at or just East of Chippenham. That gives a 25 minute lay over at Swindon which is not perfect. Of course, it does mean that if you had a third train available you could extend direct to Oxford but that's a whole new story!

What we need in the future is an hourly service and a late one back from Swindon so that it connects with the London service at 9pm just like it is on a Saturday
Fair play to the team to get this far in a short space of time
With Melksham and Trowbridge expanding more and more people might be working in Swindon

GWR ran an operational trial for us on 9th September .. an extra service from Westbury at 21:20 to Chippenham and back from Chippenham at 22:03 ... connecting with the 20:45 off Paddington / 21:44 off Swindon. Next stage now that we know it works is putting together the business case and then looking at getting the service into network planning if it can be shown to at least break even, as it's unlikely in the current climate of austerity for anyone to subsidise a new late night train.

More frequent trains ... wouldn't surprise me ;-) ... though getting it up to hourly is likely to be a series of steps. You may have notices the Monday to Friday service rose from 8 to 9 each way last May, and the various technical teams involved are forever keeping an eye on the timetables to see if anything else can be done. We are irritatingly close to having a train between the 15:12 and 17:36 from Swindon, but as yet no-one had managed to find a way to fit it into the jigsaw of other services around at the time ...

[John R]

Is there no appetite for a 1636 SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) - MKM^» (Melksham (Station code) - next trains), returning to the bay in SWI just after the 1736 has left?  With very respectable passenger numbers from MKM these days, that would make for a much more reasonable length commuting day, particularly for those travelling as far as CPM^» (Chippenham - next trains) (including college students).

[bobm]

Thinking aloud...  it would have to return after 17:54 as the two car unit to Cheltenham will be sitting in the bay until then.

A second thought - where does the unit come from to be available to leave Swindon at 16:36 and where does it go to once it returns?

I suppose it could couple to the 17:54 to Cheltenham as a way to get a unit to Gloucester?

[John R]

It is the unit that sits in the bay all that time!

[grahame]

Thinking aloud...  it would have to return after 17:54 as the two car unit to Cheltenham will be sitting in the bay until then.

A second thought - where does the unit come from to be available to leave Swindon at 16:36 and where does it go to once it returns?

I suppose it could couple to the 17:54 to Cheltenham as a way to get a unit to Gloucester?

It is the unit that sits in the bay all that time!

Yes ... that's the unit that is frustratingly "nearly available".   Looking at passenger timetables, it arrives at 16:24 into Swinon and could form a 16:36 to Melksham, calling at Chippenham at 16:54 and arriving Melkham at 17:03. A return working at 17:20, calling at Chippenham at 17:31, would arrive at Swindon at 17:48 and form the 17:54 to Cheltenham Spa.   In each cases, these are the same timings within the hour at train at other points in the day, and should fit.

Problems that make this option just nearly available:

a) There's a freight path from 16:52 to 17:05 over the single track - runs as require, but that doesn't necessarily mean it could easily be shifted.

b) The economics of the service are such that through traffic and traffic to / from Melksham hasn't been shown as a business case in its own right - the work's done on a train shared between to, from and through passengers.  From consultant and expert calculations, the from/to and through elements added up to give a working case, but either one on its own did not.    But having said that, passenger numbers have done rather better for the most part than was expected (a couple of trains a bit disappointing), and there may be a case.

c) Politically, how would it look to run a train service that turned back one station before the county town ...

Really, the big stumbling block is the freight path - no matter who much the politics and economics work out, you can't have two trains on the single line at once.

Just out of interest, I was at Melksham Station for the 16:37 to Swindon today ... 14 off and 18 on; estimate around 30 through passengers - that's 62/32.   And this is a train which has been one of the quieter-than-should-be ones that I've been worried about!

[John R]

To be fair that service ran today, so not like the mysterious morning MOD service that never seems to run.  So, yes, that is a "real" stumbling block.  An intermediate signal would help as it is a southbound freight, but we are then into infrastructure improvements, so can't be justified on a marginal basis.  Shame!

[grahame]

To be fair that service ran today, so not like the mysterious morning MOD service that never seems to run.  So, yes, that is a "real" stumbling block.  An intermediate signal would help as it is a southbound freight, but we are then into infrastructure improvements, so can't be justified on a marginal basis.  Shame!

Oh - very much a real issue,but you have me thinking.

It might work as a 16:48 from Swindon. 17:05 from Chippenham, 17:14 at Melksham.   Return at 17:20, 17:31 at Chippenham and 17:48 into Swindon.   

Previous looks at this train have been about getting it to Westbury (as trains cannot turn at the platform at Trowbridge!) and swapping it with the train that arrives there at 16:33 and continues to Warminster at 17:11 and even ignoring that freight we have been 7 minutes "short".

On a whim (to see the last peak train of the trial!) I popped back down to Melksham Station again for the 17:36 off Swindon's call - I also wanted to record the scene outside the station. 5 people were waiting and got on the train, and no fewer than 38 came out of the station gate.  Video at https://youtu.be/qDoO7FEcXhk . From a quick look at the train as it left, I estimate there were also about 55 through passengers. So that's 98/43 which is not a bad figure to close one chapter with and open the next!

I personally find it very satisfying to have seen how well used the train has become.   When I dropped off a visitor from the 10:04 this morning, I got chatting to a couple of ladies with a tiny baby and a pram, off to Swindon to do their shopping.  They arrived back on that 18:03 arrival, and stopped and chatted again; I learned that they hadn't realised that the train went through to Swindon until they saw the Facebook promotion we've been running, and how great their day out had been.  It's so rewarding to hear about that and to have it confirmed that our marketing really is reaching new users with a product they want; added to the natural flows of the corridor, we could be in for even busier trains next year!

[John R]

On a whim (to see the last peak train of the trial!) I popped back down to Melksham Station again for the 17:36 off Swindon's call - I also wanted to record the scene outside the station. 5 people were waiting and got on the train, and no fewer than 38 came out of the station gate.  Video at https://youtu.be/qDoO7FEcXhk . From a quick look at the train as it left, I estimate there were also about 55 through passengers. So that's 98/43 which is not a bad figure to close one chapter with and open the next!

And not a bad figure for a Friday, which is usually quieter for commuters.  I guess it's the fact that loadings are so strong at MKM^» (Melksham (Station code) - next trains) now that made me think that a service turning round there would be viable.  Using your slightly later timing would also mean it would probably be more convenient for commuters, and would also provide a useful additional service between SWI^» (Swindon - next trains) and CPM^» (Chippenham - next trains) to take some of the load off the following Bristol service.