Yesterday I attended
GWR▸ 's Stakeholder and Community Rail Conference in Swindon - good to see members there. This morning I have written to thank GWR for the day - a real "thank you" and much more than just a form letter - and I have also written up for the local situation and case in Melksham as I was there with my primary had being the one local to my home town.
http://grahamellis.uk/blog987.htmlFrom within that to GWR:
Rail Industry professionals and organisations are in a "squeezed" position at present, with decisions that would have been in your hands in the past now in the hands of central government, and with some of those decisions they are taking being uncomfortable ones. The start of the 2020s have been a time of unprecedented change with so many external factors rocking the boat (or is that derailing the trains?) and on top of that an admission that a number of mature structures such as franchising and the fares system are past their sell-by date - may have been good in their time, but not fit for purpose for the next decade. There is a massive problem in defining what purpose actually is, how we get there from where we are now, how we deal with the difficult issues of those who are comfortable in their use of the current systems. The direction we're headed is unclear - in a fog ahead and with an apparent strategy contradicted by shorter term tactics that speaker after speaker (with the notable exception of the recorded message from the Secretary of State) expressed coded frustration at.
Where am I going? I'm saying that I (and I believe much of the informed passenger community) sympathise with you in the issues you are having to address. We admire and respect your professionalism. We want to continue to work with you and grow the use and usefulness of public transport - in the context of GWR, that's passenger trains and road links for last mile and more remote destinations off the network.
And actions needed with a Melksham Specific bias:
Of local Melksham concern:
* Service frequency and reliability
* Easier ticketing and fares system
* Feeling of wellbeing and support at the station
* "Last mile" links by bus to homes, town centre and businesses
* Marketing and information within Melksham to encourage service use
