Train service REDUCTION between Christmas and New Year 2021/2

[whole diary]

[brooklea]

Headline / edit by Grahame:  Trains between Swindon and Westbury via Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge, appear to have been cut back significantly this week.  These changes have taken users, our station friends groups, and other contacts by surprise.  Thanks to brooklea for bringing this to our attention here - I have split his post into a separate thread so the news is not lost in our ocean of content, and as I write (10:40) I am researching and following up below.  Scroll down for service details for 29th, 30th and 31st December.


A check on RealTimeTrains this morning (Melksham (Station code) - next trains)/2021-12-29/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=passenger&order=wtt" target="_blank">
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:MKM/2021-12-29/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=passenger&order=wtt suggests a partial cull of the TransWilts services for the rest of this week; the following trains don’t appear:
0946 Westbury - Swindon
1625 Westbury - Swindon
1736 Swindon - Westbury
1834 Westbury - Swindon
2047 Swindon - Westbury

Curiously, the 1101 Swindon - Westbury is still in the system, so the possibility of a data feed glitch exists, although I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

No mention of anything amiss on GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)’s website, but checking departure times on there confirms the cuts to the service.

[grahame]

It would appear that train departures from Melksham this week are scheduled as follows:

Trains to Swindon at 05:31 07:24 07:52 12:32 14:31 20:23
Trains to Westbury at 06:36 09:09 11:25 13:39 15:40 19:16

Taking a look at a day in the middle of next week (5.1.2022), the following are offered (trains missing this week indicated with "*" to help see the difference:
Trains to Swindon at 05:31 07:24 07:52 10*01 12:32 14:31 16*40 18*49 20:23
Trains to Westbury at 06:36 09:09 11*30 13:39 15:40 18*02 19:16 21*06

This cull of five services has come from "left field" to me, and to users, and to others who I would have expected to have been alerted ahead of time too.

Edit 11:00 - a sixth service (the one supposed to call at Melksham at 11:25) has just been cancelled: "Cancelled - a short-notice change to the timetable" and I have amended the list of running services above.  I would guess the same change will be made for the next two days too.

[grahame]

Did we know about these changes?
No - we did not.

1.

Also flagged up to me by users.  Researching.   Further research inputs welcome.

I can only see this rather generic message on the alterations page of the website:

ALL ROUTES
ALL Monday to Sunday - Services on many routes will be amended over the Christmas and New Year period. Please check your journey.

The drivers diagram for the 09:46 Westbury to Swindon exists today and then has that driver working the 12:34 Westbury to Weymouth after the return from Swindon - which is also now missing from the timetable.  That suggests a very short notice change that should be on JourneyCheck.

2.

Quote from: grahame on Today at 10:25:35 am

Big reductions for the week - were you pre-alterted [at xxxx]?   Certainly taken MTUG^» (Melksham Transport User Group - site) and users by surprise this morning!

No.  They were on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) last week. I’ve emailed GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).

3.

A lot of people have been caught out this morning. The Westbury ticket office sold me via melksham ticket

4.
Engineering change notice for the Christmas period makes no suggestion that there are changes on this line



though following advice from that page (about an hour ago) I am only offered the limited remaining service - so the changes ARE in the journey planner





Next post - what and where is the customer care?

[grahame]

Next post - what and where is the customer care?

This post is intentionally blank

[bobm]

I have had it confirmed that the six services on the TW identified have been removed from the timetable for the rest of this week.  I have pointed out the 11:01 ex-Swindon remains in Journeyplanners. 

What I haven’t established is who made the decision and when. 

I redirected three people arriving early for the now non existent 11:31 at Melksham before making the dash to Trowbridge myself.  It isn’t helped by the fact the platform screens at the station are falling intermittently. 

[RA]

It appears that the Westbury to Weymouth route is subject to similar treatment. 

Edit. Just saw the reference to this in the other thread.

[grahame]

I popped down to check Melksham Station just before 10 a.m. this morning and redirected waiting passengers to the 10:35 bus from Aldi ... they asked about the return service from Chippenham and were happy with "train just after 7 p.m." as it suited them.  Station departure board not working; Hub gate pushed ajar and a couple of blokes working on the pagoda, usual advertising "A board" not out; printed timetables on display show a 10:02 to Swindon; car tyre place open with a couple of customers.  Otherwise very quiet, in contrast to town's bus stops that were very busy - though I saw a tour coach, which I suspect was coming to pick up, and it was just after the 09:30 start of bus pass time.

The 10:02 departure on 'leisure days' probably picks up more passengers at Melksham than other trains, and I will probably do another station check tomorrow in case people are there again for the train that's been withdrawn this week.

[grahame]

Looks like GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are dropping back to the same "operationally convenient" reduced service tomorrow, culling key trains such as the 10:02 to Swindon and the 17:36 back ... http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=25821.msg316757#msg316757

Constructive criticism - better to run round trips at 07:53, 10:02, 14:32, 16:40 and 18:49 ... (these are my Melksham to Swindon departure times)