Swindon <-> Westbury service updates and amendments, ongoing discussion - 2026

[whole diary]

[grahame]

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47

06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47 was terminated at Swindon.
It will no longer call at Kemble, Stroud, Stonehouse, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Ashchurch For Tewkesbury, Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street.
This is due to a broken down train.

[Mark A]

That is... really very poor. Sorry that people including you were on the receiving end of it.

Mark

[Chris from Nailsea]

I, too, was caught up in the knock-on effects of that earlier failure of a train this morning, somewhere around Stroud apparently.

My own train towards home, from Kemble to Swindon, was initially reported as 'cancelled', then 'reinstated but 11 minutes late'.  I arrived at Kemble station, where to add insult to injury the booking office and waiting room were closed all day 'due to staffing issues'. There were many passengers, effectively out in the open, conferring about the delay to their arrival in London - a few of which, I overheard, were time-critical, for business meeting reasons, for example.

The information boards and announcements were then updated fairly frequently, with the delay increasing steadily from 11 minutes to, eventually, 29 minutes.

The other two trains involved in my journey home (Swindon to Temple Meads and Temple Meads to Nailsea) were spot on time throughout.

[grahame]

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be starting late from Swindon.
This is due to the train departing late to maintain customer connections.

9 minutes late off Swindon (17:44), maintaining connection from the 16:33 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa train.   Had it set off on time at 17:35, it would have got in the way of the Bristol and Taunton train due to leave Swindon at 17:22, but didn't leave today until 17:36.   The delay looks like a sensible call.

[Mark A]

The absolute *joy* of waiting at Kemble in the 80s, when the single track section to Swindon would tend to provoke fun and games.

But also the *joy* after walking four miles to the station in the '82 snow and within a day or five of the thermometer hitting minus 18C up there, when it was necessary to leave the lane as that was choked to hedgerow-depth with snow, and make ones way through the fields alongside - to Kemble Station, and in swept the London-bound HST^▸ (High Speed Train (Inter City class 43 125 units)) from the Sapperton direction, with a decent collection of sticky snow on the front end and also between the carriages, passengers... ok, me...  once aboard, rocking up to the buffet for something to thaw them out.

Mark

[grahame]

 

20:38 Westbury to Swindon due 21:23
21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16

21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

[grahame]

19:43 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25

19:43 Swindon to Westbury due 20:25 has been delayed at Swindon and is now 5 minutes late.
This is due to a late running train being in front of this one.

[brooklea]

20:38 Westbury to Swindon due 21:23
21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16

21:34 Swindon to Westbury due 22:16 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Reinstated by 7pm; unfortunate for would-be passengers who had already altered their plans, and for the taxi drivers who weren’t ultimately engaged to cover The Railway’s staff shortage.

[grahame]

Reinstated by 7pm; unfortunate for would-be passengers who had already altered their plans, and for the taxi drivers who weren’t ultimately engaged to cover The Railway’s staff shortage.

Indeed ...

I can understand that there are times of uncertainty when operational and other issues add doubt as to whether a train can run ... and a difficult call to know whether to declare a problem to alert people as early as possible, or to proceed in trying to find a solution and keep mum about it until it's blindingly obvious that a train won't run / will skip stops, etc.

As a passenger, I stand by my wish that it wasn't just a "red/green" system but a "red/amber/green" system of information such that yesterday's might have flagged up as amber - "we may have to run buses / taxis in place of this train" rather than "this train is cancelled" - at least earlier in the day until it's known which way it's going.

I should add that we are seeing fewer cancellations as a whole on Swindon <-> Westbury services this year, bringing us much more into line - measured on percentage of trains cancelled - with other stations in the region.  Thank You to those who have helped with this - it makes the service much more attractive, marketable, growable - and analysis suggests that across Wiltshire the two current stations where there are latent opportunities are Melksham and Dilton Marsh.    Being able to rely on a service is key ... though I would point out that having a booked passenger service at all at roughly the right time is even more important to its use that the occasional cancellation.

[grahame]

07:45 Westbury to Swindon due 08:34
08:44 Swindon to Westbury due 09:26
09:46 Westbury to Swindon due 10:28
12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59
13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57
14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:00
15:15 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19
18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12
Facilities on the 22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12
Will be formed of 3 coaches instead of 2.

AOK ... though there are likely to have been seats for everyone in a 2 car train even on the 07:45, 09:46, 15:15 and 17:35 which are the busiest trains.

[matth1j]

I've been called up for jury service in Swindon in April; it's about a 10 min walk from the station to the court. Just wondering whether it'll be safe to catch the 8:02 Melksham-Swindon service (scheduled arrival time 8:34), or whether to take the 7:21 (7:47)...

There's a good chance the 8:02 will be fine. But if there is a problem, it'll be very stressful, so I'll probably end up taking the 7:21 to give me a Plan B. There's a Spoons not far from the court

[grahame]

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be starting late from Swindon.
This is due to the train departing late to maintain customer connections.

Usually a sensible hold.

[bobm]

Left five minutes late in the end. 

Real Time Trains suggests it, and earlier services, were formed of six coaches.  However it also says they used platform 2 at Swindon.  The truth is out there somewhere. 

[grahame]

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34

18:10 Castle Cary to Swindon due 19:34 will be started from Frome.
It will no longer call at Castle Cary and Bruton.
This is due to this train being late from the depot.