| Re: What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction! Posted by grahame at 12:05, 20th December 2025 |     |
Curiouser and curiouser - the new (December 2025 to May 2026) timetable displayed at Dilton Marsh includes the train
Let me zoom in on that
And my correspondent writes :
This withdrawn train that GWR seem to want to pretend is still running for Dilton Marsh passengers, used to be fairly well used with people getting on and off the train. This included schoolchildren who attended schools in Salisbury and Warminster, on occasions who had after school activities, plus people who worked in Warminster and those joining at Dilton Marsh who worked night shifts in Bristol. Friday evenings were often busy: in fact on one Friday, the driver was warned by the signaller to approach Dilton Marsh at caution because of the number of passengers on the platform.
I have also noticed that when trains have been cancelled, admittedly sometimes because of things outside GWR's control, this has made "return" services more lightly loaded which I suspect isn't coincidence. For example, a couple of weeks ago, the morning / lunchtime trains were all cancelled from Dilton Marsh, trains that are normally busy at Dilton Marsh, because of a fallen tree in the Avon Valley. [redacted] .... I walked to Westbury for my outward journey but I think I was pretty unique in this. The train I caught home, 1743 from Bristol, which normally has double figures of people getting off at Dilton Marsh, only had me getting off which I've never seen before on.
It has been suggested that in place of this train, GWR might like to stop the Portsmouth-Cardiff service that runs prior at Dilton Marsh - which (it is suggested) very often has to wait for a platform at Westbury and so may as well stop at DMH rather than in the countryside just outside Westbury.
| Re: What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction! Posted by grahame at 18:31, 19th December 2025 | |
I will follow up here to let members know the answers.
Received this afternoon ... will follow up with further follow up(s). So far, so good
I did see some previous correspondents reference to the new timetable for Dilton Marsh. [redcated] may be a bit closer to it. I’ll have a look and get back to you by Monday.
| Re: What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction! Posted by grahame at 14:48, 18th December 2025 | |
I am sure you have worked this out but:
the service WMN to BRI still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc.
the service WMN to BRI still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc.
Indeed ... hoping to go beyond guesses. Layover is 13 minutes in Westbury. I have asked the GWR managers if they can assist us in letting us know why the service was withdrawn from passenger use, how customers were asked and told, and what alternatives they suggest people use. I will follow up here to let members know the answers.
| Re: What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction! Posted by WSW Frome at 14:36, 18th December 2025 | |
I am sure you have worked this out but:
the service WMN to BRI still runs but the first portion WMN-WSB is ecs and runs earlier to then lay over in Pl 2. My guess would be something to do with crewing and end of shifts etc.
| What is happening at Dilton Marsh? Key service reduction! Posted by grahame at 11:08, 18th December 2025 | |
In the new timetable that started this Monday, there's no longer an 18:30-ish train to Bristol - a well used service ("it always stops" - local report) but rather a gap from about half past five until twenty to eight.
This means the people who live in Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh can no longer easily attend some evening meetings / events in Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon and Bath. It means that people returning home from Southampton (at 17:15) or Salisbury (at 17:45) to Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh no longer have a connection at Warminster, but rather don't arrive home until over an hour later.
I saw nothing in any of the online or other briefings to reflect this change, I saw and heard of no consultation, and I have seen no explanation nor customer alternative offered. At a West Wiltshire Rail User Group committee lunch yesterday, it seems the cutting out of this train has come as a surprise to the users of Dilton Marsh Station too.
Before throwing a "wobbly" - either from myself or others - does anyone here know of a explanation for what appears to be the culling of a popular train without any process of asking, informing, or perhaps thinking of the customers?
