Train petition gathers pace

The Save The Train group has launched a petition on the 10 Downing Street website to get the First Great Western train service on the TransWilts line improved.

Melksham businessman Graham Ellis set up the petition last week and by today it had received more than 500 signatories, including five MPs, three MEPs and local councillors from all parties.

Mr Ellis said: "Forty per cent of services between Westbury and Swindon have been cancelled since the beginning of January.

"We are saying return the travel opportunities that have been taken away. Return a sensible service for everybody.

"We are not being luddites, we just want them to look at what the travel opportunities are."

Mr Ellis said the 7am service from Westbury was cancelled five times over a 10-day period from January 7-17.

He added that First Great Western had withdrawn the 7.30am, 1.20pm and 4.47pm trains from Westbury to Swindon so the next train is at 7.35pm.

He also said use of the Westbury to Swindon service had risen dramatically over the past five years and ticket sales to and from Melksham had increased from 3,000 a year to 27,000.

He added: "The First group promised us when they took over the line that the service would be more reliable after a three month honeymoon period, but it got worse.

"Indeed we were without trains for 10 days last summer and scarcely a week went by without the morning or evening commuter train being cancelled."

Mr Ellis, who runs a business in Melksham, said 40 per cent of his customers used to travel by train to him, but last year only one did.

A spokesman for First Great Western said cancellations and shorter trains were due to a maintenance backlog. He said they had got through the backlog now and the services should get better.

He added that the service between Westbury and Swindon was not well used and that was why services there were cancelled first.

The petition is open until February 7 and can be accessed HERE