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

[whole diary]

[grahame]

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34 will be delayed at Westbury.
This is due to the train departing late to maintain customer connections.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Well, there's at least some suggestion of customer focus there, then. 

[grahame]

Well, there's at least some suggestion of customer focus there, then. 

Indeed - connection off the 18:43 arrival from Paignton was due onto the 18:49 to Swindon.  The Paignton train dragged in at 19:03 and the Swindon left at 19:06.

[matth1j]

6:06 Swindon to Southampton Central (Melksham 6:32) cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

No advance warning of this one; showing as on time at 6:00 and just delayed after its scheduled departure, until about 6:10 I think. Already left house by then, so had an extended walk to the Market Place bus stop to catch the 271 to Bath (which delay/repay will fund).

Good start to the week 

[grahame]

6:06 Swindon to Southampton Central (Melksham 6:32) cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

No advance warning of this one; showing as on time at 6:00 and just delayed after its scheduled departure, until about 6:10 I think. Already left house by then, so had an extended walk to the Market Place bus stop to catch the 271 to Bath (which delay/repay will fund).

Good start to the week 

Usually the 05:11 from Gloucester, during engineering works last week ran from Cheltenham Spa, today plan was from Swindon.   Don't rely on it, have a "Plan B" for tomorrow. Oh - like, these days,  you always have a plan B.

06:06 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09

06:06 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham and Trowbridge.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Last Updated:06/10/2025 06:14

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) only suggesting Delay/Repay in further information - nothing about alternative provision.

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Kemble due 08:09

Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Kemble due 08:09.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

That's the train that usually goes to Worcester Foregate Street.   No issues with the change of length.  School traffic from Swindon and Kemble to Stroud may not be delighted at the change.

Edit to add - there's an ongoing connecting bus from Kemble in the short term plan - so it looks like it's not totally an "oh oops" at very short notice on this train.

[grahame]

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 22:08
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[TaplowGreen]

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 22:08
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Isn't that the last service of the day? Was alternative transport provided?

[ChrisB]

They'd have to get folks home....poss by taxi from Chippenham on next train

[grahame]

Isn't that the last service of the day? Was alternative transport provided?

[/quote]

They'd have to get folks home....poss by taxi from Chippenham on next train

I would suspect for Melksham that's the case. It would have been good customer service to let passengers who have been failed by the cancellation and check on line know what's happening, but such niceties tend to be sporadic.

There is a gap in direct London to Chippenham trains at that time of the evening too and usually a significant flow off the 21:31 from Paddington to Cheltenham Spa (Kemble yesterday) ... those passenger would have been knocked back onto the train that left Paddington at 22:02

[matth1j]

6:06 Swindon to Southampton Central (Melksham 6:32) cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

No advance warning of this one; showing as on time at 6:00 and just delayed after its scheduled departure, until about 6:10 I think. Already left house by then, so had an extended walk to the Market Place bus stop to catch the 271 to Bath (which delay/repay will fund).

Usually the 05:11 from Gloucester, during engineering works last week ran from Cheltenham Spa, today plan was from Swindon.   Don't rely on it, have a "Plan B" for tomorrow. Oh - like, these days,  you always have a plan B.

Yep, 06:06 Swindon to Southampton cancelled due to shortage of train crew again. At least they gave a bit more notice this time.

And I see the next train through Melksham, the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester has also been cancelled, for the same reason.

[TaplowGreen]

6:06 Swindon to Southampton Central (Melksham 6:32) cancelled due to shortage of train crew.

No advance warning of this one; showing as on time at 6:00 and just delayed after its scheduled departure, until about 6:10 I think. Already left house by then, so had an extended walk to the Market Place bus stop to catch the 271 to Bath (which delay/repay will fund).

Usually the 05:11 from Gloucester, during engineering works last week ran from Cheltenham Spa, today plan was from Swindon.   Don't rely on it, have a "Plan B" for tomorrow. Oh - like, these days,  you always have a plan B.

Yep, 06:06 Swindon to Southampton cancelled due to shortage of train crew again. At least they gave a bit more notice this time.

And I see the next train through Melksham, the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester has also been cancelled, for the same reason.

06:06 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09
06:06 Swindon to Southampton Central due 08:09 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47
06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 will be started from Swindon.
It will no longer call at Salisbury, Warminster, Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham and Chippenham.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Early yesterday, I sent and shared my open letter to our MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) asking him to step in and oil wheels to help restore the train service at Melksham to the same level or reliability as is achieved elsewhere by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway), which in my view is not brilliant but is at least workable with and something they have demonstrated they can achieve.  I have received and automated initial reply to my email.  Silence for GWR contacts; that may be, just after the letter sent, a good or a bad thing - a good thing if they are taking it seriously, a bad thing if it's gone into their ignore folders.   At least we have avoided kneejerk standardised responses.  https://www.mtug.org.uk/lib/bmmp20251006.pdf

We had cancellations on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and already this Wednesday morning. With, typically, a 2 hour gap between trains, every cancellation hurts.  I will "forgive" one day - let's call that Saturday - "these things happen" but this morning?   Shortage of Crew?   Really?  I can believe it, but repeated time and again this smells of a failure of management to deliver the product they are contracted to provide.

Question $64,000 ... what do we (customers) do about it?   How do we help / persuade the people who run the trains (or should do) to deliver with a failure rate of under 5%, not one over 10% - rising to 33% at weekends?

[matth1j]

FWIW^▸ (for what it's worth) I've submitted another complaint to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) via their online form.

[matth1j]

FWIW^▸ (for what it's worth) I've submitted another complaint to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) via their online form.

Not that their web software is antiquated or anything but you can't even put brackets or semicolons in the complaint text - "We are unable to submit your form with some of the special characters you’ve used entered" 

EDIT: and I've just noticed how that (copy/pasted) sentence ends!