Swindon <-> Westbury service updates and amendments, ongoing discussion - 2025

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09
05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09 will be terminated at Westbury.

It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.

This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

[matth1j]

17:35 Swindon - Westbury cancelled because of a broken down train

[grahame]

17:35 Swindon - Westbury cancelled because of a broken down train

And the Westbury to Swindon train that forms it too ...

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19


17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

[grahame]

and

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56

20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

[TaplowGreen]

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train

[grahame]

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09

05:11 Gloucester to Southampton Central due 08:09 was terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Dilton Marsh, Warminster, Salisbury, Romsey and Southampton Central.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[matth1j]

17:35 Swindon - Westbury cancelled because of a broken down train

Again fault on train today.

[TaplowGreen]

Cancellations to services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham

Due to a broken down train all lines are disrupted. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Train services between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham have been cancelled.

Customer Advice
-
What has happened?
-
The train that runs between Westbury and Chippenham has broken down.
-
What are we doing about it?
-
We are unable to source a replacment therefore we will opperate rail replacement transport between Chippenham and Wesbury in both directions.

[grahame]

I will be getting the 18:03 bus from Melksham Market Place to the West Wilts meeting ... see how I do on return for the 21:22.

[grahame]

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19
18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[matth1j]

I will be getting the 18:03 bus from Melksham Market Place to the West Wilts meeting ... see how I do on return for the 21:22.

I legged it to BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI) but BTM is a commonly used alternative)) so I could catch the 16:47 Warminster service instead of my normal 17:00 Paddington, allowing me to catch the 17:15 271 bus from Bath to Melksham instead of the cancelled Chippenham-Melksham train. The infrequency of said trains fortunately means that the refund is sufficient to cover the bus cost

[matth1j]

allowing me to catch the 17:15 271 bus from Bath to Melksham instead of the cancelled Chippenham-Melksham train. The infrequency of said trains fortunately means that the refund is sufficient to cover the bus cost

2nd 271 of the day, although the first one was due to a senior moment - was one mile into the 1.6 to Melksham station when I realised I'd left my laptop at home. After retracing my steps, rather than repeating the initial mile I caught the bus to Bath - the nearest bus stop is only about 100m from my front door. It's a useful option to have as a backup.

This evening's refund of just over £5 will nearly cover my morning lapse as well.

[matth1j]

2nd 271 of the day

...and even that got delayed...

[grahame]

I will be getting the 18:03 bus from Melksham Market Place to the West Wilts meeting ... see how I do on return for the 21:22.

18:03 bus running very late ... so I caught the daily x69 to Bradford-on-Avon at 18:05. The 18:21 train from there to Trowbridge was 8 minutes late, so managed to catch that - at the venue just before 18:40. 

Getting home may be interesting - GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) say that they are running rail replacement buses, so we will see.

[grahame]

Six out of 18 trains through Melksham cancelled  from mid-afternoon yesterday ... 33% of service - with JourneyCheck warning that service was out for the rest of the day (but buses provided).    But then the final round trip was re-instated (at about 8 p.m. I understand), and ran with just five passengers including myself from Trowbridge.  Train manager tells me that this is normally a quiet service with just a couple of dozen passengers - "it's much busier on the return from Swindon to Westbury".

The rail industry reporting - as seen through ontimetrains - reports just 22% cancelled - in other words their statistics report a much better situation than was really the case - four out of five passengers turned away for that final train, yet the rail industry gives itself a pat on the back for running it.   And even so, Melksham's performance is rated 2451st out of 2600 stations - and that for a station where the service is so thin that there's no opportunity to just wait for the next train.



As an aside, that graphic reports that 22% of trains were 5 to 9 minutes late too.  Provided that connections are not missed, that's pretty immaterial to me.   That 21:22 Trowbridge to Melksham that was re-instated was one such delayed train.   The Portsmouth to Cardiff train just ahead of it from Westbury was running a couple of minutes late and held it up, and then the Portsmouth to Cardiff train had an extended station stop at Trowbridge while the train manager got out a ramp to allow a wheelchair user to join on his way to Bristol.  A delay that the railway could not have foreseen as the wheelchair user had not pre-booked assistance;  I do note, though, that many modern trains and stations have level boarding as a flap that automatically extends to touch the platform whenever a door opens for (any) passengers, and had that been available at Trowbridge, there would have been no further delay to the train waiting behind.