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

[whole diary]

[TaplowGreen]

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01
14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58
15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26
17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

[grahame]

[snip]

17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26
17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

[snip]

Oh dear - five trains out of 9 each way cancelled, and only one train Westbury to Swindon after the 09:45 - that's the 20:06, left, and only one train Swindon to Westbury after the 10:41 (the 11:05 normal time, but running earlier) - that's the 18:44.

No alternative transport mentioned on JourneyCheck, and no suggestions to passengers as to how they should travel.  It appears to be purely an operational announcement, with nothing to help passengers get to where they need / want / planned to go.

If you require further information please speak to our staff at the station or on the train, use the Customer Help Point, message us on X @GWRHelp or call National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484 950.

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

Most passengers I speak to would prefer to have a service and get home, rather than getting there money back and being left to fend for themselves on how to travel ... by a travel company!

[TaplowGreen]

[snip]

17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26
17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

[snip]

Oh dear - five trains out of 9 each way cancelled, and only one train Westbury to Swindon after the 09:45 - that's the 20:06, left, and only one train Swindon to Westbury after the 10:41 (the 11:05 normal time, but running earlier) - that's the 18:44.

No alternative transport mentioned on JourneyCheck, and no suggestions to passengers as to how they should travel.  It appears to be purely an operational announcement, with nothing to help passengers get to where they need / want / planned to go.

If you require further information please speak to our staff at the station or on the train, use the Customer Help Point, message us on X @GWRHelp or call National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484 950.

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

Most passengers I speak to would prefer to have a service and get home, rather than getting there money back and being left to fend for themselves on how to travel ... by a travel company!

Now in Journeycheck;

Cancellations to services between Swindon and Westbury
Due to a broken down train between Swindon and Westbury fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled.
Disruption is expected until the end of the day.

Customer Advice
-
What has happened?
-
The train operating between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham has failed and there is no spare train available to replace it

............there is some lengthy advice about rail replacement and alternatives if you're at either end of the line but didn't want to fill the space up here!!!

[grahame]

............there is some lengthy advice about rail replacement and alternatives if you're at either end of the line but didn't want to fill the space up here!!!

We have space on the server, and for completeness I will quote it.

Due to a broken down train between Swindon and Westbury fewer trains are able to run.
Train services running through these stations may be cancelled. Disruption is expected until the end of the day.
Customer Advice
-
What has happened?
-
The train operating between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham has failed and there is no spare train available to replace it
-

What are your options?
-
We are sorry for the disruption to your journey today, these are the current options available to you:
-
Option 1: Passengers from Westbury and Trowbridge are advised to await the next service towards Bath Spa and then change there for services towards Chippenham and Swindon.

Passengers from Swindon and Chippenham are advised to await the next service towards Bath Spa and then change there for services towards Trowbridge and Westbury.

Passengers from Melksham are advised await the rail replacement services to Chippenham and Westbury via Trowbridge
Passengers from Westbury or Trowbridge for Melksham should contact station staff for onward road transport.
Passengers from Swindon for Melksham should travel to Chippenham on the next available service and then liaise with station staff for onwards road transport to Melksham.

-
Option 2: Replacement transport provided by us will operate between Chippenham and Westbury via Melksham and Trowbridge will start operating from 18:00 onwards
-
Option 3: If your train is cancelled, you may travel on either of the two services before, or two services after, your original train. If these are peak services or less flexible, you can still travel with your original ticket, at no extra cost.
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Option 4: Consider postponing your journey until our service returns to normal.
-
For more information:
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Use the National Rail Enquiries real-time journey planner to check if a journey by rail is currently possible. If you are at a station please check the live departure boards or speak to a member of station staff.
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Let us help you:
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If you're already travelling when disruption happens, we'll get you where you need to go. If you miss the last train of the day due to cancellation or because another train was delayed, we wont leave you stranded.
-
If you require help, further information or would like to provide feedback, to help us improve in the future:
Speak to staff at the station or on the train. Use the Customer Help Point on the platform.
Message us on X @GWRHelp, Facebook Messenger @gwruk, Instagram @gwruk or WhatsApp 07890 608043. Our team is available daily between 06:00 and 23:00 Monday to Friday and 07:00 to 23:00 Saturday and Sunday.
Call our Customer Support team on 03457 000 125, who are available between 08:00 and 20:00 Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 17:00 Saturday and Sunday, or National Rail Enquiries on 03457 484 950, who are available 24 hours a day.
-
Delay Repay:
-
If you arrive at your destination 15 or more minutes late because your GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) train was delayed or cancelled, you can apply for Delay Repay compensation. Please keep your ticket and visit GWR.com/DelayRepay
-
Further Information
An update will follow within the next 2 hours.
Last Updated:09/07/2026 17:14

Looks right "no spare train" in the Cardiff -> Portsmouth is running with only 3 and 2 car trains.   Love it that you can take "next 2 services" - that reads to me that you can use today's ticket on the first train or two tomorrow.

[John D]

............there is some lengthy advice about rail replacement and alternatives if you're at either end of the line but didn't want to fill the space up here!!!

We have space on the server, and for completeness I will quote it.

Due to a broken down train between Swindon and Westbury fewer trains are able to run.

Looks right "no spare train" in the Cardiff -> Portsmouth is running with only 3 and 2 car trains.   Love it that you can take "next 2 services" - that reads to me that you can use today's ticket on the first train or two tomorrow.

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) are failing all over the place today

The train being used for the Par to Newquay service has broken down, and a spare is not currently available.

-The train that runs between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton has broken down.

One of the train being used on the Exeter to Barstaple service has developed a fault and has been taken out of service. There is no spare immediately available, and so regretfully we have had to reduce to service from hourly to two hourly. This is likely to be for the remainder of the day.

The train operating between Swindon and Westbury via Melksham has failed and there is no spare train available to replace it

Clearly a serious DMU crisis, units breaking down, no serviceable spares, are they simply be worked unrealistically hard, beyond point where they can repair them fast enough

[ChrisB]

Heat getting to them? They are very old

[PrestburyRoad]

Heat getting to them? They are very old

I know how they feel!  I am having very long siestas in this heatwave.

[grahame]

Heat getting to them? They are very old

I know how they feel too.   But I don't have any data as to what the failures are, or indeed where "more trains than usual require repair" it could relate to trains sitting in sidings waiting for parts, or waiting for technicians to fix them.  Rumour has suggested that a/c failure in the driving cab is a major cause of trains being declared unusable in very hot weather and that sounds plausible to me.

[bobm]

There is a programme to improve the air cooling in the cabs of some of the units - not sure if it is the turbos or the 158s or both.

It will take 12 months to complete and it will probably still struggle on the hottest day as it can only reduce the temperature by about 7 degrees.

In the meantime crew are being asked to lower blinds and leave windows open when units are laying over between trips to try to reduce the greenhouse effect. 

[bobm]

The unit doing the Bedwyn shuttle has expired now. 

[grahame]

https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/26268279.train-delays-due-broken-train-near-swindon/

Picture ... of an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)).   I still wonder if - in a parallel universe - the hourly London (Paddington) to Cheltenham Spa train would load to 10 carriages, dividing at Swindon with 5 (first portion) going forward alternately to Cheltenham Spa via Gloucester and to Gloucester via Cheltenham Spa, and 5 going forward via Trowbridge, Westbury, Frome, Yeovil and Dorchester to Weymouth.

[grahame]

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

[grahame]

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01

14:18 Westbury to Swindon due 15:01 has been cancelled.
This is due to a fault on this train.

followed with a feeling of inevitability by

15:14 Swindon to Westbury due 15:58
16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26

17:45 Swindon to Westbury due 18:26 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

[TaplowGreen]

17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06
17:50 Gloucester to Salisbury due 20:06 will be cancelled.
This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time.

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21
18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 has been cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56
20:12 Swindon to Westbury due 20:56 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58
21:16 Westbury to Swindon due 21:58 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12
22:31 Swindon to Westbury due 23:12 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

[grahame]

Would it be realistic (though uncharitable) to suggest that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are sending out trains at the start of the day that aren't going to be able to manage their full diagram?