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Author Topic: Minister's Visit to TransWilts.  (Read 20220 times)
grahame
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« on: March 02, 2017, 15:41:35 »

Paul Maynard MP (Member of Parliament), the Rail Minister, visited the TransWilts this morning. The TransWilts has been a huge success with dramatic passenger number rises due to the Department for Transport, Great Western Railway, Witshire Council and the TransWilts CRP (Community Rail Partnership) working together, and this has culminated in service designation and the making of the current service permanent at the tail end of last year.

Looking forward, trains that didn't exist 4 years ago are overcrowded and we need a further carriage, and a later train too. The links onwards from Westbury to Salisbury are rather random in how they connect, and Dilton Marsh and Wilton on that route are poorly served and unserved.

Great Western Railway arranged a special train for the minister, his party, GWR (Great Western Railway) managers, local and rail indusrty representatives and community representatives to travel from Swindon to Salisbury and back - out via the TransWilts (via Melksham) and back via Bathampton to contrast that route. The service demonstrated a through Swindon to Salisbury and back service, using a 2 carriage train respendent in GWR's green colours, with a stop at the site of the future Wilton Station too. A really excellent trip, with plenty of networking opportunities include the LEP» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about), Developers for Wilton, Network Rail, ACoRP (Association of Community Rail Partnerships), Wiltshire Council, Visit Wiltshire, and Transport Focus. The real VIPs on the TransWilts train service are the passengers who use it; today was an excellent opportunity to show the line off to others, to ensure they're much more fully informed when it comes to improving services and stations for our VIPs.

Pictures - all taken within the last 48 hours. The view out of the train window shows the space available for Wilton Station, and the final two picture show our regular trains - this morning at Melksham, and on Tuesday evening just south of Chippenham.



















P.S. How many speakers can you name?

Edit to correct typo
« Last Edit: March 02, 2017, 17:52:07 by grahame » Logged

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bobm
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« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2017, 15:47:36 »

A couple more from me

The site of Wilton Station from a different angle



Time for networking on the train


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chuffed
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« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2017, 17:09:18 »

Who's next ? HMQ ? (to confer a knighthood on Sir Graham of Ellis ?)
Shame to waste that raised dais, GWR (Great Western Railway) backing track and floral display !
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John R
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« Reply #3 on: March 02, 2017, 17:37:59 »

I wondered what was up when I arrived at SWI» (Swindon - next trains) this morning to see Mark Hopwood and the various paraphernalia being put in place. Great to see the profile of the line being enhanced in this way. Well done to all involved.
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bobm
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« Reply #4 on: March 02, 2017, 17:40:38 »

Who's next ? HMQ ? (to confer a knighthood on Sir Graham of Ellis ?)
Shame to waste that raised dais, GWR (Great Western Railway) backing track and floral display !

There was one Royal item of note I learned today.  Close to the proposed site of Wilton Station are Quidhampton sidings where the Royal Train has been known to stable overnight.

Today's useless fact.
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grahame
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« Reply #5 on: March 02, 2017, 17:50:16 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) press release [here]

Quote
Rail Minister travels on special TransWilts train to honour valuable role of community rail

Thursday 02nd March 2017

Rail Minister Paul Maynard has today travelled on a special train service to mark the role of community rail and to visit the proposed site of a new station at Wilton.

The Minister travelled on a special GWR 1005 Swindon to Salisbury service.

He said:

“It was a pleasure to ride on this special TransWilts train today and see first-hand all the hard work which is going in to make this Community Partnership Railway successful.

“These railways are good for communities increasing revenue, reducing costs, increasing community involvement and supporting social and economic development.

“Across the country there are about 3,200 rail volunteers who work 250,000 hours per year, helping to improve stations and reduce vandalism.”
The TransWilts Line is one of the fastest growing lines in the country and has seen passenger numbers grow year on year. In 2015 there was over 215,000 journeys on the line, nearly a 20% increase on the previous year.

GWR Managing Director said:

“Community Rail groups play a leading role in helping to improve services and stations across the country; as we have seen here on the TransWilt.

“Working with Wiltshire Council, and the TransWilts CRP (Community Rail Partnership) we at GWR have been able to launch additional services on this line, improving rail links and further supporting the local economy; and I am delighted to be able to welcome the Minister here today on this special, extended train service.”

Following many years of community involvement, the rail user group was officially recognised as a Community Rail Partnership in October last year.   

GWR is committed to working with Wiltshire County Council and the TransWilts Partnership to further improve services on the line, building on the remarkable growth since new services were introduced in 2013. 

New electric trains in London and the Thames Valley, and new Intercity Express Trains across the GWR mainline network, will drive a fleet cascade in which passengers in key cities will see significant improvements in capacity on local suburban services; including two car trains on this TransWilts line service and further improvements in the quality of rolling stock will see free WiFi included.
Today’s special journey shows GWR’s and TransWilts CRP’s hopes of extending the current service from Westbury through to Salisbury.

The train will stop at Trowbridge and Westbury before arriving at the proposed site of Wilton Parkway Station, before continuing to Salisbury arriving at 1122.

Paul Johnson from TransWilts added:

“We are delighted that the Rail Minister has chosen to visit TransWilts CRP so soon after granting us Designated Service status. In the last two years our passenger numbers have grown by 25% and since the service started in December 2013 Melksham station passenger numbers have increased five-fold. TransWilts, working with GWR, is playing an increasing role in connecting Wiltshire’s principal communities along the north - south Wiltshire corridor. I particularly want to thank our enthusiastic membership who continue to be such an essential part of our continuing success.

“During the Minister’s visit, as well as celebrating our Service Designation, we are demonstrating the potential of an extended TransWilts service. Our growth aspiration is to increase the service frequency and to extend the reach of the service south from Westbury via Salisbury as far as Southampton Airport.”

David Northey, Senior Strategic Planner at Network Rail said:

“It is great to see the growth of the TransWilts line in recent years and the benefit this has brought to the communities that it serves. Community Rail groups play a vital role in helping to improve services and with the proposed development of Wilton station it is a further indication of the success of the TransWilts line.”
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grahame
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« Reply #6 on: March 02, 2017, 20:40:02 »

More on the TransWilts visit, and also his follow up visit to Knorr Bremse in Melksham

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/wiltshire_news/15130267.Rail_minister_travels_on_special_TransWilts_train/

Swindon Advertiser

Quote
RAIL minister Paul Maynard today travelled on a special train service to mark the role of community rail and to visit the proposed site of a new station.

The minister travelled on a special GWR (Great Western Railway) Swindon to Salisbury service.

He said: “It was a pleasure to ride on this special TransWilts train today and see first-hand all the hard work which is going in to make this Community Partnership Railway successful.

“These railways are good for communities increasing revenue, reducing costs, increasing community involvement and supporting social and economic development.

http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/15129862.Rail_minister_visits_Melksham_manufacturer/

This is Wiltshire

Quote
A MELKSHAM-based manufacturing company welcomed MP (Member of Parliament) Paul Maynard to have a look round the premises and meet the hard working staff.

Knorr-Bremse Rail UK (United Kingdom) in Hampton Park East, Bowerhill, welcomed the Parliamentary under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport through its doors to see the inner workings of the company which produced braking systems and on-board systems for the country’s train network.

Mr Maynard was treated to a presentation on the company, including information on the worldwide exporting of Knorr-Bremse’s products.

“The visit has been fascinating, it is really good to see a strong local business employing local people. It is obviously very successful and that is what we like to see. Standing upstairs and overlooking the whole factory floor amazed me, such a big company here in Wiltshire is wonderful, said Mr Maynard.

“Innovation is vital in our rail industry to bring our aged network up to standard. This will help provide the fast, reliable services passengers want to receive and that government wants to deliver. Companies like Knorr-Bremse are leading the way in bringing new thinking to the industry and as a result are also exporting British designed and built braking systems around the world.”

Mr Maynard was also joined by Wiltshire MP Michelle Donelan on the tour of the factory floor.

"It is wonderful to see a company employing local young people to work for it and it is great to see the minister come to Melksham to visit everyone," said Miss Donelan.

Knorr-Bremse’s systems are currently in use on new trains in the UK and in countries such as China and the Middle-East. The company’s EP2002 Distributed Brake Control system resulted in a record level of sales last year, something that is expected to be broken in 2017.

Paul Goodhand, MD of Knorr-Bremse, said: “It is great that the minister responsible for rail has taken the time to come and see us and is interested in UK technology development and manufacturing in the sector. We see the continued investment in, and development of, advanced systems here as essential to continue with our export success.”
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ChrisB
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« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2017, 11:09:56 »

David Northey, Senior Strategic Planner at Network Rail said:

Good to see David still around & working on GWR (Great Western Railway)....he has been quiet recently.
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NickF
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« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2017, 14:27:04 »

Gazette link, content looks similar to others:

http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/15130267.Rail_minister_travels_on_special_TransWilts_train/
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grahame
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« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2017, 18:49:14 »

Spire FM

http://www.spirefm.co.uk/news/local-news/2237502/special-train-stops-at-wilton-for-first-time/

Includes some picture not yet all that widely seen
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bobm
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« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2017, 19:03:15 »


While it is always nice to get publicity I would like to thank the author for asking for permission to use the photos before posting the article.  We are unlikely to say no but it is nice to be asked and thus alerted to the article.
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2017, 20:07:54 »




P.S. How many speakers can you name?


Sorry, but I'm going to go for an easy one to start with: Mark Hopwood, Managing Director, Great Western Railway.  Wink

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
John R
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« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2017, 20:52:42 »

Is that a picture of the new TransWilts rolling stock behind him perchance?
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2017, 20:57:07 »

Hmm.  An occasional HST (High Speed Train) has been known to stop at Melksham ...  Wink Cheesy Grin

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2017, 22:13:24 »




P.S. How many speakers can you name?


In the absence of any restriction on the 'number of guesses' here, I'm also going to name Paul Maynard MP (Member of Parliament), the Rail Minister (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport).  Grin

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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
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