18:35 Westbury to Swindon due 19:17
19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29
19:44 Swindon to Westbury due 20:29 will be cancelled.
This is due to passengers causing a disturbance on a train.
Last Updated:22/08/2026 18:18
I'm on the 18:18 Paddington to Swansea train and was planning to change into the train
GWR▸ have just cancelled at Swindon. No indication on Journeycheck of alternative arrangements and no staff have passed through to ask (as yet). Will ne interesting to see what happens.
Home - and at about the time I would have been anyway if the train had run. Catering trolley came through at around Shrivenham. Chap looked up the train on his phone and confirmed it was cancelled, and also confirmed there was no alternative train; that news seems to surprise him. Suggested I have a word with the folks on the platform in orange jackets who would be able to help with an alternative.
Chap on platform after dispatching the Swansea told me for Melksham to catch the 19:25 to Bath Spa and change there onto a train there to get to Melksham. I inwardly rolled my eyes, but then when I heard him repeating that advice to others, I asked if this was something new as there aren't normally trains from Bath to Melksham ... I asked if we would be better getting the 19:25 to Chippenham and whether road transport would be provided, and he felt that was a good idea.
Got to Chippenham at around 19:35 ... train dispatcher tells me to have a word with gateline staff when I ask, and a group of us do. The departure boards just say "cancelled" without offering an alternative, with screens and facilities with more room say "will call at Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury" when clearly it won't. "Thank goodness you know who to ask / where to go" say a couple of folks who are sticking beside me. Over the bridge, into the station entrance barriers and a chat with the gateline staff there, who are all too familiar with the circumstance.
Cancelled train had been due 19:59. "Can't do anything until the 19:56 arrival from Bristol in case anyone is connecting" which at face value makes sense - except we had a full taxi load already ... and in the end we set off in a full taxi on a "chit" that GWR will pay for the cab a few minutes later and got to Melksham on time.
As is familiar "territory"/experience, at least two other taxis set off for Melksham at the same time, hired by other groups / people clubbing together and agreeing how they would pay - same experience the world over (St Margreten to Bregenz, for example) and by making private arrangements, some benefit for the passengers gained in that they can ride that final mile home rather than being dropped at the station. But that does men that GWR get off "on the cheap" and the disruption and upset to journeys does not get registered in their pocket.
Into Melksham at around 20:00 to 20:05 / home at 20:45 (having stopped in town to order, await preparation and collect a takeaway). Taxi driver dropped us off - with our unanimous agreement - at the top of Station Approach, and confirmed he knows the Chippenham to Melksham Station run very well indeed. "Always doing it".
Disruptions are a learning experience.
Had we gone on to Bath, a train double back via Trowbridge would have got us there to Melksham Station at 21:38 - 90 minutes later than scheduled. That's as per advise from [name redacted] on platform at Swindon.
Or ... had we waited for the final train of the day from Swindon / Chippenham, we would have got to Melksham Station at 22:42 - 154 minutes later than scheduled. Had we gone to Bath Spa and the station staff had provided taxis, I guestimate we might have got to Melksham Station around 25 minutes later than scheduled. Had we gone to Bath Spa, walked up to the Guildhall and caught the next available bus - the 21:00 - it would have passed close to Melksham Station at around 21:40 - again 90 minutes later than scheduled.
Also learned - somewhat though not sharing more about fellow passengers arriving into Melksham / taxi sharing - travelling from Oxford (that flow again!) on personal / family business, and headed for a location in Melksham that's a significant walk from the station there.
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