2025 - Service update and amendment log, Swindon <-> Westbury

[whole diary]

[grahame]

16:43 Frome to Swindon due 17:34

16:43 Frome to Swindon due 17:34 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
Two Travel Southwest minibuses have been arranged to run from Westbury at 16:55, calling at Trowbridge (17:07), Melksham (17:20) and arriving Chippenham (17:37) where customers can catch the 17:55 London Paddington service which calls at Swindon at 18:07. Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop.

18:10 Chippenham to Westbury due 18:53
An additional bus service has been planned to operate as shown 18:10 Chippenham to Westbury due 18:53.
Additional Information
Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the coach at the designated stop. There will be two 16 seater minibuses operated by Travel Southwest.

[grahame]

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 shortage of train crew.

Further Information

If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train was delayed or cancelled, you can claim Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay

[matth1j]

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.

[bobm]

Now both re-instated.

[matth1j]

Now both re-instated.

[matth1j]

...and the 17:35 Swindon-Westbury left Chippenham on time, but then stopped for about 5 mins somewhere before Thingley, due to a red signal according to the train manager. Wasn't obvious why; I assumed something had got delayed coming from Melksham in the opposite direction on the single track we were waiting to turn into, but nothing came past us. Strange.

[grahame]

...and the 17:35 Swindon-Westbury left Chippenham on time, but then stopped for about 5 mins somewhere before Thingley, due to a red signal according to the train manager. Wasn't obvious why; I assumed something had got delayed coming from Melksham in the opposite direction on the single track we were waiting to turn into, but nothing came past us. Strange.

Nothing obvious on Real Time Trains ... the other possibility that I looked at was the possibility of something ahead of it that had to clear Bradford Junction before you could proceed, but that was NOT showing on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website).

Signalling experts may be able to help me - but I think that the train is passed from Didcot to Westbury sit passes along the line and signallers at both ends have to co-operate to pass trains.  I get the impression that the paths / this is occasionally done very late.

[RA]

...and the 17:35 Swindon-Westbury left Chippenham on time, but then stopped for about 5 mins somewhere before Thingley, due to a red signal according to the train manager. Wasn't obvious why; I assumed something had got delayed coming from Melksham in the opposite direction on the single track we were waiting to turn into, but nothing came past us. Strange.

Nothing obvious on Real Time Trains ... the other possibility that I looked at was the possibility of something ahead of it that had to clear Bradford Junction before you could proceed, but that was NOT showing on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website).

Signalling experts may be able to help me - but I think that the train is passed from Didcot to Westbury sit passes along the line and signallers at both ends have to co-operate to pass trains.  I get the impression that the paths / this is occasionally done very late.

The signaller at Westbury controls the single line through Melksham. In order to route a down train from Thingley Junction towards Bradford Junction, the signaller on the TVSC^» (Thames Valley Signalling Centre - about) Swindon workstation has to request the slot from their counterpart at Westbury. If the slot is not requested or given in good time, the Automatic Route Setting will set the route up only as far as the signal before the Thingley crossovers. This is to ensure that the junction is not blocked if there was to be a train coming up from Bradford Junction first.

[grahame]

08:44 Swindon to Weymouth due 11:08

08:44 Swindon to Weymouth due 11:08 will be diverted from Yeovil Pen Mill.
It will call additionally at Thornford, Yetminster, Chetnole and Upwey.
This is due to the train making extra stops because of service disruption.

[grahame]

18:35 Westbury to Swindon due 19:20
19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29

19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew

Perhaps a good place to log my two journeys Swindon to Melksham

Yesterday at 22:31 (Friday 13th) from Swindon
18 passengers on train into Melksham. where 10 got off and 3 on. [21/13]

Today at 15:14 from Swindon
36 passenger on train into Melksham, where 18 got off and 2 got on.  [38/20]

[TaplowGreen]

22:12 Swindon to Westbury due 22:55
22:12 Swindon to Westbury due 22:55 will be cancelled.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

Sun, 15 June 13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45
15/06/25 13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

19:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:00

19:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:00 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
It is being delayed at Yeovil Pen Mill.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

Wonderful end to a day trip

[grahame]

19:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:00

19:38 Weymouth to Swindon due 22:00 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
It is being delayed at Yeovil Pen Mill.
This is due to a fault with the signalling system.

Wonderful end to a day trip

And for today ... the first train is replace by a bus because, as far as I can tell, the line is needed to run a more important West Country express that calls at Westbury, with engineering works closing the normal line through Pewsey.   Then ...

Sun, 15 June 11:12 Weymouth to Swindon due 13:24

15/06/25 11:12 Weymouth to Swindon due 13:24 will be terminated at Westbury.
It will no longer call at Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45

15/06/25 13:32 Swindon to Weymouth due 15:45 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

16:43 Frome to Swindon due 17:34

16:43 Frome to Swindon due 17:34 will be started from Westbury.
It will no longer call at Frome.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

Quoting from Heart of Wessex ...

Updated the subject title to reflect another bad day on the Heart of Wessex Line:

08.01 Weymouth - Bristol Parkway Cancelled
11.32 Swindon - Weymouth Cancelled
13.32 Swindon - Weymouth Cancelled
16.05 Weymouth - Bristol Temple Meads Part cancelled*
*starts at Westbury

Only four trains you may say, but on Sundays, where the service is a lot less frequent, that leaves some big gaps in the timetable.

Like yesterday, is this because of only Westbury crew signing Weymouth now?

On the TransWilts service, don't forget that the first round trip was a rail replacement bus this morning - not really a replacement but a substitution by something different and inferior.

A lot of TransWilts southbound in the morning use it for onward connections which leave Westbury (today) at ...
09:32 and 09:57 (yes, 2 at 25 minutes apart) for Weymouth
09:37 for London
09:54 for Penzance
10:02 for Portsmouth
and these would normally offer connections off the train from Swindon.   Guess what - the bus arrives at Westbury at 10:14 and that breaks all of these connections.   Only 2 other GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) trains are timetabled to leave Westbury before 11:00 and could be described as connection - 10:40 to London (by Real Time Trains tells me it's not expected until 11:10)  and a train at 10:41 which - oh dear - heads up to Swindon which is where the direction the bus came in from in the first place!