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

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Wouldn't the re-routed trains appear on the station departure boards in some form?

[grahame]

Wouldn't the re-routed trains appear on the station departure boards in some form?

Very likely - though I'm not when. Not there to observe

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59 is being delayed at Westbury.
This is due to train crew being delayed by service disruption.

Something to do with the 11:56 arrival at Westbury from Paddington not getting there until 12:31, per chance?   The 12:17 to Swindon left at 12:34.   Thank you [whoever] for not cancelling the round trip to Swindon as has happened too often in the past with this train.

[ChrisB]

Wouldn't the re-routed trains appear on the station departure boards in some form?

Very likely - though I'm not when. Not there to observe

You can view the boards online can't you? How do the boards I see in people's houses work? That feed is presumably free?

[IndustryInsider]

Wouldn't the re-routed trains appear on the station departure boards in some form?

Very likely - though I'm not when. Not there to observe

You can view the boards online can't you? How do the boards I see in people's houses work? That feed is presumably free?

You can.  Indeed the forum header text links to a few of the busier ones.

Here is Melksham:
https://tiger.worldline.global/MELKSHM/cisds

[Mark A]

In the URL, surprised that it doesn't use the three letter station code, or, as it doesn't, that system's not able to take a station code in the URL and substitute whatever it does use.

Mark

[grahame]

In the URL, surprised that it doesn't use the three letter station code, or, as it doesn't, that system's not able to take a station code in the URL and substitute whatever it does use.

Mark

It uses the TIPLOC code - never use one system where you can have five.   I'm sure when we have GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) this will simply and standardise things 

CRS: MKM^▸ (Melksham station)   
NLC^▸ (National Location Code): 334600 (or 3346)
TIPLOC: MELKSHM   
STANME: MELKSHAM   
STANOX: 75361

[IndustryInsider]

In the URL, surprised that it doesn't use the three letter station code, or, as it doesn't, that system's not able to take a station code in the URL and substitute whatever it does use.

It uses the TIPLOC code - never use one system where you can have five.   I'm sure when we have GBR^▸ (Great British Railways) this will simply and standardise things 

For those not in the know...

1)  A good place to find all the codes, and a description of what they mean:

http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/crs/crs0.shtm

2)  The list of stations covered by the Worldline servers that display as the Melskham link above, and where you can also choose various other layouts:

https://tiger.worldline.global/home

[matth1j]

This morning's early Gloucester-Southampton service got delayed somewhere between Chippenham and Melksham - left the former on time, departed the latter 11 mins late at 6:40 instead of 6:29. No reason given on platform or train, although there was a freight service that passed through at about 6:21 heading in the same direction, don't know if that had something to do with it - obviously it would had it been travelling in the opposite direction.

Consequently missed the Fratton-Bristol service at Trowbridge (6:46)

[grahame]

Today (11th??) ...  Civil Engineer's train 6C41 left Swindon at 05:56 - 29 minutes late - and didn't reach Bradford Junction until 06:31 ... by which time the Southampton trains had left Chippenham on time (06:19)  and was twiddling its thumbs at Thingley East waiting for the single line - which it got and passed onto at 06:34.  No idea why 6C41 had been held up at Swindon - it got there on time.

[grahame]

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

Facilities on the 06:35 Salisbury to Worcester Foregate Street due 09:47.
Disabled toilet facilities are not available.

[matth1j]

This morning's early Gloucester-Southampton service got delayed somewhere between Chippenham and Melksham

Problems again this morning, didn't leave Swindon until 06:31, 28 mins late. The time for Trowbridge was showing as 07:05, the same as my Trowbridge-Bristol service (2nd choice after the 06:46), so I decided not to risk it and caught the 271 bus to Bath and 07:46 Weston-super-Mare instead.

Of course the Southampton service subsequently departed Trowbridge at 07:04, so there would have been time to catch the 07:05 on the other platform

BTW^▸ ('by the way') I tried using the Help Point(?) at Melksham when the ETA was just showing 'Delayed'; this was at about 6:30. They picked up after a few rings - great - and gave what I guess was a standard spiel about what they could and couldn't do. I'm guessing because they had a strong accent, which combined with the less than perfect audio quality of the equipment meant I literally didn't understand a word of what they were saying.

After they stopped I didn't reply immediately, and they started again - this time I could make out something about disconnecting the call. So I piped up, and explained the situation. After that, when they weren't just reading from a script, it got easier (but not easy) to follow, and they were pretty helpful.

But it seems daft to me that for a job that centres around spoken communication, with no visuals, they give it to someone with a strong accent

[bobm]

But it seems daft to me that for a job that centres around spoken communication, with no visuals, they give it to someone with a strong accent?

A point well made but it doesn’t appear to be unique to railway helplines. I seem to encounter it on a daily basis - and that’s once you got past the AI “receptionist”.

[grahame]

"On" topic - looks lie the train got delayed for half an hour at Swindon this morning ... and left fairly soon after trains from Swansea and Paddingon had called, and an empty (running late) from Stoke Gifford had terminated.    I don't think the Gloucester crews sign the TransWilts any longer, so as an educated guess the train was awaiting crew.

"Off" topic

But it seems daft to me that for a job that centres around spoken communication, with no visuals, they give it to someone with a strong accent?

A point well made but it doesn’t appear to be unique to railway helplines. I seem to encounter it on a daily basis - and that’s once you got past the AI “receptionist”.

It reminds me of my friend Paul from Newbury (or somewhere else in stockbroker belt).  Spoke in a similar way to I do.  Fell I love with someone he met online (as many of us innovative types did) and ended up marrying Laura and they moved to her home state of Texas.   Paul got himself a job at a local call centre, answering customer queries.  Sadly, he got bad reports from customers - not because of the advise he gave, but they wanted the call centre to have staff who could speak English properly ...

Some time when I have the time (!), I must tell the story of Laura and Paul, the Chinese takeaway we ate in my flat in Nythe on what should have been their wedding night, and how a relationship that seriously had us doubting its longevity has endured 30 years through events that would have broken most of us. 

[matth1j]

I don't think the Gloucester crews sign the TransWilts any longer, so as an educated guess the train was awaiting crew.

Sorry, yes, I should have said - that's what the Help Point told me.

[bobm]

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58 will be started from Chippenham.
It will no longer call at Swindon.

This is due to the emergency services dealing with an incident.

The incident has happened at Wootton Bassett junction by the road bridges and there are some fairly graphic photos circulating as a result unfortunately.