What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction!

[whole diary]

[grahame]

In the new timetable that started this Monday, there's no longer an 18:30-ish train to Bristol - a well used service ("it always stops" - local report) but rather a gap from about half past five until twenty to eight.

This means the people who live in Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh can no longer easily attend some evening meetings / events in Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Bath.   It means that people returning home from Southampton (at 17:15) or Salisbury (at 17:45) to Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh no longer have a connection at Warminster, but rather don't arrive home until over an hour later.

I saw nothing in any of the online or other briefings to reflect this change, I saw and heard of no consultation, and I have seen no explanation nor customer alternative offered.  At a West Wiltshire Rail User Group committee lunch yesterday, it seems the cutting out of this train has come as a surprise to the users of Dilton Marsh Station too.

Before throwing a "wobbly" - either from myself or others - does anyone here know of a explanation for what appears to be the culling of a popular train without any process of asking, informing, or perhaps thinking of the customers?

[WSW Frome]

I am sure you have worked this out but:

the service WMN^▸ (Warminster station) to BRI^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads station (that is the formal station code - see also BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads station (strictly, it should be BRI) but BTM is a commonly used alternative))), or Bristol Royal Infirmary (hospital), depending on context) still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB^▸ (Westbury station) is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc. 

[grahame]

I am sure you have worked this out but:

the service WMN^▸ (Warminster station) to BRI^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads station (that is the formal station code - see also BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads station (strictly, it should be BRI) but BTM is a commonly used alternative))), or Bristol Royal Infirmary (hospital), depending on context) still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB^▸ (Westbury station) is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc. 

Indeed ... hoping to go beyond guesses.  Layover is 13 minutes in Westbury.  I have asked the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) managers if they can assist us in letting us know why the service was withdrawn from passenger use, how customers were asked and told, and what alternatives they suggest people use.  I will follow up here to let members know the answers.

[grahame]

I will follow up here to let members know the answers.

Received this afternoon ... will follow up with further follow up(s).  So far, so good

I did see some previous correspondents reference to the new timetable for Dilton Marsh. [redcated] may be a bit closer to it. I’ll have a look and get back to you by Monday.

[grahame]

Curiouser and curiouser - the new (December 2025 to May 2026) timetable displayed at Dilton Marsh includes the train



Let me zoom in on that



And my correspondent writes :

This withdrawn train that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) seem to want to pretend is still running for Dilton Marsh passengers, used to be fairly well used with people getting on and off the train. This included schoolchildren who attended schools in Salisbury and Warminster, on occasions who had after school activities, plus people who worked in Warminster and those joining at Dilton Marsh who worked night shifts in Bristol. Friday evenings were often busy: in fact on one Friday, the driver was warned by the signaller to approach Dilton Marsh at caution because of the number of passengers on the platform.

I have also noticed that when trains have been cancelled, admittedly sometimes because of things outside GWR's control, this has made "return" services more lightly loaded which I suspect isn't coincidence. For example, a couple of weeks ago, the morning / lunchtime trains were all cancelled from Dilton Marsh, trains that are normally busy at Dilton Marsh, because of a fallen tree in the Avon Valley. [redacted] .... I walked to Westbury for my outward journey but I think I was pretty unique in this.  The train I caught home, 1743 from Bristol, which normally has double figures of people getting off at Dilton Marsh, only had me getting off which I've never seen before on.

It has been suggested that in place of this train, GWR might like to stop the Portsmouth-Cardiff service that runs prior at Dilton Marsh - which (it is suggested) very often has to wait for a platform at Westbury and so may as well stop at DMH^▸ (Dilton Marsh Halt) rather than in the countryside just outside Westbury.

[grahame]

I will follow up here to let members know the answers.

Received this afternoon ... will follow up with further follow up(s).  So far, so good

I did see some previous correspondents reference to the new timetable for Dilton Marsh. [redcated] may be a bit closer to it. I’ll have a look and get back to you by Monday.

Substantive follow up received at 8 O'clock last night (Tuesday) - and after I had visited supermarkets (plural) to find and gather supplies to see us through into the new year, come home, unpacked and imbibed some juice from the Laughing Llama.  On Christmas Eve, realistically, no point / prospect of taking it further before everyone involved heads home for Christmas; it's a good day to release bad news, isn't it?

To differentiate though - the fiasco of the loss of this train from Dilton Marsh leaving a peak hole in the service there, and my criticism of how it was done and advised, takes nothing from my thought and respect for the different groups of people who ARE out there on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and at other times looking after and replacing infrastructure, and also for that group of people who are there in operational roles - drivers, train managers and station staff who we come across when we travel.   To all of those much larger groups - thank you for what you do; I know some of you share the frustration of the passengers.

But yet - I do not differentiate in wishing everyone a happy Christmas.  I look forward to working positively and in partnership with everyone, and that includes those whose decisions we may not agree with, and their unfortunate consequences.  Let's look forward to finding how things work for everyone for 2026.

[grahame]

It was very unfortunate that we only heard back from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) on this very close indeed to Christmas. It felt like a "send and run" email of the sort sent just before someone goes off on holiday, with the intent of the livid recipient cooling off, and opportunities gone, before there's a chance to answer.

While there remains a chance (being optimistic) that a resolution can be found for the return to work on 5th January, I'm not sharing the GWR letter and the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) response in public, but I did want anyone reading here on the Coffee Shop's public boards to be aware that we're working on it.

[grahame]

This thread has been quiet for a week - which, sadly, does not mean that the issue has been resolved and addressed for the people who live at Dilton Marsh and used to use the train that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has culled in the evening peak.   While there was a chance of a resolution that worked for everyone, even for the customers, the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) committee has been working the issue, and I / we have restrained from getting rather upset with GWR in public.

[grahame]

This thread has been quiet for a week - which, sadly, does not mean that the issue has been resolved and addressed for the people who live at Dilton Marsh and used to use the train that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) has culled in the evening peak.   While there was a chance of a resolution that worked for everyone, even for the customers, the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) committee has been working the issue, and I / we have restrained from getting rather upset with GWR in public.

And quiet on this thread for almost 2 more weeks.  And I'm still refraining from some of the things I am tempted (in fury) to say in public, and we still lack many answers. We do have public relations lead answers to some questions, and but some questions have not been addressed. We have a profound disquiet that a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) can withdraw a service without even notice or consultation for various reasons given which would have ramifications all over the country.

[grahame]

Ten days ... and here from the White Horse News



This is a - developing - story ...

[grahame]

Loads of follow ups on the White Horse News article

Makes me laugh the train passes the station so why can't it stop .If the signal is at caution then what's the problem because it's highly possible the train will stop just down from halt .Public transport is a joke

A single from Dilton Marsh to Westbury must be the most expensive in terms of time and distance on the entire system. I wonder how many are sold?

What about People TRYING TO GET TO WORK IN Dilton Marsh from Trowbridge or Warminster ??

Part of that is based on usage. One way of monitoring usage is by checking ticket sales. If fewer tickets are sold to and from Dilton, it appears that not many people are using it. If a ticket isn’t bought online prior to boarding and a guard doesn’t sell a ticket, it appears that not many people are using the station.

Train withdrawn for NO real reason. As not as though it takes a long time to stop to let people on/off a train!!

Wife went to catch train this afternoon, cancelled even though nothing on the app saying so. It’s a joke that we have a station on our doorstep yet we can’t use the train as much as we want because of such poor service

If a train stops at a request stop ,why can't it stop at any other times?

I also promised a further update - see  "https://grahamellis.uk/blog1859.html " where I have written a status update on my blog. Looking at the smaller stations in Wiltshire and why the services are relatively poor and uncared for:

Smaller Station issues - Melksham and Dilton Marsh

There are two railway stations in Wiltshire where the limited facilities and infrequent services give lie to the fact that they serve substantial catchments. Those stations are Melksham, where the population of the urban area it serves is 25,000, and Dilton Marsh where the population it serves in 9,000. Both stations have residential expansion planned locally; Wiltshire is one of the fastest growing authority areas in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), and sustainable and efficient transport is at the hub of that.

Those stations:
Dilton Marsh: 10119 journeys in 2001/02 rising to 21580 journeys in 2024/25 (2.4 journeys per resident)
Melksham: 3266 journeys in 2001/02 to 60932 journeys in 2024/25 (2.4)

By comparison:
Warminster: 247665 journeys in 2001/02 to 355958 journeys in 2025/25 (14.2)
Bradford-on-Avon: journeys 211968 in 2001/02 to 532220 journeys in 2024/25 (53.2)
Trowbridge: 404998 journeys in 2001/01 to 904342 journeys in 2024/25 (24.4)

[snip]

How much traffic is being lost by the poor services at Dilton Marsh and Melksham? Let's take the Warminster figure of 14.2 journeys per resident per annum. We would predict 127800 ticket sales for Dilton Marsh - a rise of 106000, or 592% of current journeys. And we would predict 355000 ticket sales for Melksham, or 583% of current journeys.

Outrageous predictions like these have me questioning my own sanity. However, discussions with retired specialist civil servants I have worked with over the years, my sanity is confirmed. These are the sort of numbers they would expect after a lead in time of 3 to 5 years of a reliable, friendly, appropriate, usable service. Which leads us to ask two quetions - "why has it not been done" and "what is the negative economic effect of the poorly served areas caused by the lack of decent trains".