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

[whole diary]

[bobm]

17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55

17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55 is being delayed at Swindon.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Incoming service arrived three minutes late and left four minutes behind time.

[grahame]

17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55

17:44 Swindon to Salisbury due 18:55 is being delayed at Swindon.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

Incoming service arrived three minutes late and left four minutes behind time.

Glad it ran.   Here is the record for the peak late afternoon train off Swindon since the timetable changed:



15 days since new timetable came in of which:

2 days were the Christmas Shutdown
5 days were cancelled
8 days it ran

That's a 38.5% cancellation rate
This is the busiest train of the day and the one, as I understood it, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) made every effort to to protect.

Hoping for a happier new year.

[grahame]

Just two cancellations across the whole GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are as I write.   No prizes for guessing where, or why!

2 Train Cancellations
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 shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Just two cancellations across the whole GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are as I write.   No prizes for guessing where, or why!

2 Train Cancellations
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 shortage of train crew.

And SEVEN HOURS later, the admit to adding in a bus

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 22:31
An additional bus service has been planned to operate as shown 21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 22:31.
Additional Information
The coach is operated by Applegates Coaches Limited.

Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop.

The replacement road transport may run later than the advertised train times owing to the additional time taken by road between stations and the time required for loading and unloading at each stop.
Further Information

If you require further information please speak to our staff at the station or on the train, use the Customer Help Point, message us on X @GWRHelp or call National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484 950.

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
Last Updated:30/12/2025 19:14

Better than nothing ... but yet I wonder if and how many people have changed their plans between the cancellation just before lunch and the admission that a bus would run at quarter past seven.

[grahame]

The 05:11 from Gloucester to Southampton did not run this morning - not flagged up on JourneyCheck and it looks like an unannounced timetable change has removed it - to start at 06:55 from Westbury, first southbound trains at Melksham not until 09:09 which is a fat lot of good for the regular commuters on the 06:30.   Even then, the remaining train ran 22 minutes late Westbury to Salisbury where it was terminated:

This service was cancelled between Salisbury and Southampton Central due to the planned train being replaced with a slower train (MS).

[bobm]

The 05:11 has not run since Christmas Eve.   It is not due to run tomorrow or Friday either.

[grahame]

The 05:11 has not run since Christmas Eve.   It is not due to run tomorrow or Friday either.

I *had* noticed its absence tomorrow.  But resumes Monday, right?    After the peak service 'pulled' without consultation or notice from Dilton Marsh, leaving passengers high and dry, my trust in GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) telling us about changes has been severely dented.

[bobm]

My source is Real Time Trains, which suggests it is.