Yesterday was the final run of the trial extra trains on the TransWilts line (High Summer Sundays). Wash up meeting - Melksham Rail Development Group at 19:30 on Friday at Melksham Town Hall, and TransWilts Community Rail Partnership at 09:45 at Well House Manor, Melksham, on Saturday 10th September.
MRDG» is an open meeting. The
CRP▸ meeting - any organisations within or wishing to join the partnership are welcome, as are volunteers to help on the group. But please contact me by PM or email ahead of time.
Many thanks are due ...
In no particular order ...
Sponsors and other organisations without whom this service could not have been run.
Visit Wiltshire, Invensys, Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce, Knorr Bremse, Eddy Shah, Wiltshire Council and others.
First Great Western ... in two parts
^ Firstly to the Managers and Organisers who helped put this plan into place and who helped tune some of the elements as we went along. From the train planners through to the backroom folks who put the adverts together, to the local area managers and to the Regional Manager for FGW▸ .
^ Secondly to the operational staff - the drivers who have been up extra-early on the Sunday mornings, and especially to the conductors for who we have replaced quiet "turns" with ones in which they have at times been rushed off their feet. The TransWilts Community Rail Helpers have certainly come to appreciate, over the past couple of months, what a marvellous job the conductors do. And we also really appreciate how they've done that job on the extra services with such an excellent approach and humour. FGW should be proud of you.
Volunteers and helpers with TransWilts Community Rail Partnership who have assisted with counts and information on the trains, at boarding stations, and behind the scenes. Ann-Marie, Bob, David, Dominic, John, Lisa, Lee, Paul, Peter, Roger, Sion, Victoria and others
There are miscellaneous thank too - to Network Rail for ensuring that the TransWilts line was available outside normal operation hours. To National Rail / ATOC» for including the services on the online train planner. To Trowbridge Tourist Information Centre for selling tickets and handling queries. To our MP▸ (Chippenham / Melksham) for his longstanding support - and for coming along of the first day, and to other MPs in Wiltshire too with who's ongoing support we wouldn't have got as far as we have. To people who have added our information into newsheets and newspapers and onto websites, radio and TV so that people have been able to discover the service. Personally too to family, friends and work colleagues who have put up with me being train-mad for the last couple of month.
But the biggest "Thank you" of all is to the people who came along - in their thousands. You may have come along for a great day out, at very good value, (and most of you were saying you DID» have a good day!), but you have also helped us to consolidate the case for a much more frequent service right along the TransWilts line - which we hope to achieve in the foreseeable future, thanks to your help.
Quoted from
here on my blog. You'll recognise some of the names. And if you're one of the FGW team and know some of the train crew - please pass on the link to this.
