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
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What has happened?
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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!!!

 
So does Stanton Drew - The Druids Arms. 

 

Sound bites shared for members from the BBC for critical review and further comment:
Mayor of Bradford-on-Avon at  https://www.passenger.chat/lib/SBBBCWilts090726.wav
Myself as a committee member of WWRG at  https://www.passenger.chat/lib/GJEBBCWilts090726.wav

 

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.


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!

 
Avebury has a pub too.

 

What happened to the Marylebone - Stratford upon Avon direct trains?  A service that obviously would  be very useful for tourist visitors

 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8rdj8x0k9o

 
School trip as a kid. Visited again a few years ago - via the public footpath. Too expensive for an 'official' visit.

Ambivalent. But would like to get my drone up there. Although that would be limited to the south of the stones as they are bisected by a No Fly Zone.

 

Course not.  'twas Wednesday

 

At Avebury you can also see the stones being reset twice a year - https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154178800268586

 
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.

 

One thing you can be sure of - it won't be Prince Harry's ferry!

 

 
But yesterday was Wednesday

 
I went with my family back in the 1970s when you could walk around it more freely.  Certainly agree that Avebury has more to offer...and I do remember the HTV series set there.    Special mention too for the lesser known but not unimpressive stone circles at Stanton Drew in Somerset, which I think are the third largest in the country after Avebury and Stonehenge.

 

Same story in my local large supermarket, although they were very honest with the reason saying the fridges couldn't cope with the hot weather.  Also a smaller shop local to me was closed yesterday with the fridges empty when I peered through the window.  The chocolate was also absent from the shelves indicating it might have been a store wide air-con failure and not just the fridges.

And to top it off, my Costa had run out of ice so I couldn't get a nice refreshing frappe!

 
Is King Harry's ferry going to temporarily change its name to King Harry Kane's ferry? 

 

This one is still ongoing, and now we also have;

Delays to services between Reading and Slough

Due to a problem with line-side equipment between Reading and Slough the line towards London Paddington bound high speed is disrupted.

Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 11:00 09/07.

 
...and Avebury has its own TV series, a blast from the past for those of us of a certain age:
https://youtu.be/SwT0wLnT7Rc?si=UAhk1c8xlnha-ksa

 
Agreed; never visited Stonehenge, driven past it quiet a few times and might stop one day.

 
Avebury is much much better to visit.  It feels so very atmospheric of the past, and it's spacious and does not feel crowded.  But don't tell everyone!

 

I should have a link to the interviews with the Mayor of Bradford-on-Avon and the Committee member of WWRUG who spoke within the next 24 hours.

 

[Edit] Touched on at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00am in the news updates, and then at 8:08am, interviews including with Grahame. Other transport issues covered, an unpleasant disruption on the A36 and a residents vs I think Highways Agency meeting on the issues with the A303 given the recent cancellation of the 'Enhancement'.

This probably won't be a direct link, you'll need the 9th July programme, available for a month.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_wiltshire

Mark

 
According to Explored Planet, Stonehenge is the 4th most overrated attarction in the world!

https://www.exploredplanet.com/view/the-worlds-most-overrated-tourist-attractions


Do YOU think Stonehenge is worth a visit?

 
Barnstaple back to normal today and 175002 did the Paignton training run, but 2T07 the grammar school train to Paignton was cancelled (one hour gap). Okehampton was cancelled (2 hour gap) and a Paignton-Exmouth shortform again that coincides with the cheap day return tickets.

GWR must really be going for the worst service award and with only 2/5 175s surviving yesterday are certainly helping them win.

 

Probably, yes - according to an expert it only doesn't stop at Camborne on Wednesdays.

 
With this continued hot and dry weather it cannot be long before the line suffers again from the soil moisture deficit. Two posts on X suggest that it is being looked at. If so then it might be significantly longer alteration to the timetable than last year.

https://x.com/chimewhistle/status/2074822379419705442?s=61&t=VlafMC5gF9tidw36b1Y8JQ

 

Might explain why the painters were out on the 22nd giving the station another dose of chocolate and cream.

 

Thanks, Mark.  I have edited my original post to headline that URL, and posted onto the West Wiltshire Rail User Group on Facebook where it is a pinned / featured article - see https://www.facebook.com/groups/wwrug/

 

I really look forward to your report - I am / have been planning a similar trip over several years but have been diverted to something else (heatwaves, medical constraints) several times.   Enjoy!