West Wilts Rail User Group - 16th September 2026

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Our speaker at WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) on 16th September will be Peter West, who was the franchise manager at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) for many years.  He is now a member of the board at the Severnside Community Rail Partnership.

WWRUG meets at the Bethesda Church Hall in Trowbridge - open from 19:00 for networking and coffees, with the speaker at 19:30.   It's only 100 yards or so from Trowbridge station and we finish in time for "carriages' - for you to connect with trains home around 21:15.    Meeting costs are include in West Wiltshire Membership fees (which are a bargain) but guests are welcome too at £2 a head.



Edit note: I have corrected one of grahame's trademark typos here, for clarity. CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).     

[ChrisB]

ooooohhh....wsh I could be there.

I've always wanted to know why he ordered IETs^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) that are so not suited to the Wests railways.....and he  was the responsible civil servant

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hmmm. 

At the risk of possibly causing offence to Peter West: I amended grahame's original post, where he had referred to Peter West as 'the franchise manger at the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)' - and is there any such entity as a 'responsible civil servant'?

I apologize for any offence I may cause by posting this, my personal opinion, not an official view from the Coffee Shop forum.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum). 

[ChrisB]

Responsible for the order, not necessarily being a responsible civil servant!

[grahame]

It should be a very interesting evening.  I have met Peter a number of times - both during and after his time with the Department for Transport; he was always very professional, and since his DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) days my respect for him has grown further.

[ChrisB]

Indeed he is. But he's still responsible for ordering & specifying the IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan))....

[Chris from Nailsea]

Posting here, simply to 'bump' this topic / event.

It looks to be a very interesting talk from the guest speaker, and the venue is very convenient for train travellers to and from Trowbridge - the meeting times are tailored accordingly.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum). 

[grahame]

On Wednesday evening (14 16.9.2026), Peter West, OBE, will be speaking to the West Wiltshire Rail User Group in Trowbridge (at the Bethesda Church Hall). All welcome.

Peter was the Rail Sector Commercial and Strategic Manager at the Department for Transport who looked after the First Great Western franchise from the time that First took over the Greater Western franchise from Wessex Train in our are right thorugh the shock of the covid changes and beyond. 

At a time of rail industry re-organiastion - a time of great opportunity but also grear risk - Peter will be giving us an talk on "The Rail Review - update" - looking at where we are and where we are headed.  This is one not to miss.

Doors open 19:00 for tea / coffee and Peter will be "first up" when we start at 19:30.  There's planned to be an opportunity to ask questions too.  The Church Hall is just across from Trowbridge Station - up the street behind Trinity Church off the Bath-bound platform.  The meeting is organsised by the West Wiltshire Rail Users Group (WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about)). For paid up WWRUG members, the meeting is included in your £8 subscription. Guests welcome, with a £2 donation requested - why not join instead on the night?

We'll be finished by 21:10 - in time for "carriages" at 21:18 (to Bradford-on-Avon, Bath and Bristol), 21:22 (to Melksham, Chippenham and Swindon), 21:31 (to Westbury, Frome, Yeovil), 21:52 to Avoncliff and local stations to Keynsham, and 21:58 to Dilton Marsh, Warminster and Salisbury.  Many connections further afield (in and out) too but, sorry, no direct trains from London these days.

Event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1719354635990390 - it would be appreciated if you're not a regular but intending to come if you could let us know there, but like the trains in our area at the moment, you can still just come along and pay on the evening.




Edit note: Date corrected, at the very start of grahame's post, to avoid possible confusion. CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[Mark A]

On Wednesday evening (14.9.2026), Peter West, OBE, will be speaking to the West Wiltshire Rail User Group in Trowbridge (at the Bethesda Church Hall). All welcome.

I can't make this, but this meeting especially, anyone who is thinking of attending, please go along. When the WWRUG^» (West Wiltshire Rail Users Group - about) says 'All welcome', that's sincerely meant, and especially at the moment, the more people who are well informed about two or three issues with Wiltshire's rail service the better.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Now I'm sure of the date (see above , I'm certainly intending to be there in Trowbridge - via Kemble, Cirencester, Kemble again and Swindon.  I'll be having a rather busy Wednesday.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum).

[grahame]

Late notice extra ... from https://www.facebook.com/groups/wwrug

From DILTON MARSH for our meeting tomorrow (16.9.26) evening in Trowbridge, GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are making an extra stop at 18:04 on the Portsmouth - Cardiff train than usually goes through non-stop at that time. 

Big THANK YOU to GWR for this extra stop.  Please do come along to our event at 19:00 (coffee and networking) for 19:30 - talk by Peter West OBE, looking at the rail review that's bringing big changes, and updating us on how it's going and how it will go.   All welcome - guests £2.   Venue - Bethesda Church Hall, about 100 yards from Trowbridge Station.

Dilton Marsh station has grown from a remote little station serving a village and field into a station servicing (now) a much larger village on one side, and the Westbury suburb of Westbury Leigh on the other, and as such is the railhead for quite a large residential area.  Services have somewhat improved over the years, and we might anticipate that they'll continue to do so, with operational changes making the station much more akin to a regular stop than a halt.

[grahame]

Excellent evening ... further (initial) update at https://www.passenger.chat/r32511.html
or https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=32511msg379647#msg379647 for comment

[Chris from Nailsea]

Apologies from me.  I was not, after all, able to join that meeting.  Family commitments meant that I was delayed getting back to Swindon, such that I just missed the train I was aiming for, to get to Trowbridge in time for the meeting.

I'm glad to read that it all went well (even without me). 

[grahame]

Apologies from me.  I was not, after all, able to join that meeting.  Family commitments meant that I was delayed getting back to Swindon, such that I just missed the train I was aiming for, to get to Trowbridge in time for the meeting.

I'm glad to read that it all went well (even without me). 

You missed a good'un! Presentation shared (with permission) at https://www.passenger.chat/pw2wwrug.pdf and follow up in relation to local campaigns in "Frequent Posters" at https://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=32513