Graham Ellis - my blog
Public participation question for Melksham Town Council / Planning Committee / 15th September 2026
On Agenda item 9 - "To consider a response to Wiltshire Council’s Freight Action Plan consultation (deadline 23 September 2026)"Melksham lies in the middle of England and on the only designated trunk road and rail links for freight through Wessex from the Solent and BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole). These links also provide the trunk freight corridors from Trowbridge, Warminster and Westbury to the M4 and northward (road) and from the Somerset Stone quarries to the Heart of England (rail).
Will the Town Council's Planning Committee please make an input to this consultation, which closes on 23rd September, acknowledging these links and requesting that the freight action plan provides strategic support for significant infrastructure improvements on both the rail and road corridors to not only handle the projected increased freight traffic in an environmentally friendly way, but also handles projected passenger traffic which shares the infrastructure?
On the map accomanying this article, from the consultation (Appendix A) - "Wiltshire HGV Route Network"
Green - Strategic Routes
Yellow - County Roads
Purple - Local Access
Grey - not in the HGV route network
You may like to note in meeting preparation
a) This consultation input is due before the next full council meeting, and separate to local plan input which has a later cut off date
b) Written Statement on rail freight by the Secretary of State for Transport on 8th September 2026 which brings forward some targets https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/rail-freight-growth-2040-target
c) Road corridors mapped out no longer show the A36 to Bath (for A46 and Bristol connections) to be trunk
d) Projected routing for a new Melksham bypass routes traffic away from Melksham Town Parish, although it remains in the Melksham Community Area
e) Network Rail, LTP4, Bath and Wiltshire Metro all call for infrastructure improvements to substantially increase rail capacity, and Network Rail and HMG plans call for phasing out of diesel-only trains, which account for all freight and regular passenger services through Melksham at present. The section from Chippenham to Trowbridge is already a bottleneck even at current traffic levels (last Thursday night - queues of trains waiting to get through, for example)
f) Written early on 10th September to give maximum notice of question. I will be visiting the local plan road show in Devizes today (why is it not coming to Melksham?) and may follow up on that, and happy to provide links / references is needed prior to next Tuesday
To: CEO, MTC as notice of question. Courtesy copy to Saffi Rabey as Committee Chair. Please feel free to share.
Graham Ellis
48 Spa Road, Melksham, SN12 7NY
graham@sn12.net
07974 925928 or 01225 708225
My emailling policy: https://grahamellis.uk/email
20 years ago - last TransWilts commuter train. Progress since.
Twenty years ago today, 9th September 2006, Melksham lost its commuter train service from Swindon - leaving us with just two trains each way per day at times that a train could be spared off what were deemed "more important lines", and were pretty useless (frankly) here. What has followed? It took seven years to get a trial service back by adding a single (one carriage) train shuttling up and down every 2 or 3 hours. That succeeded beyond target and was made permanent 3 years later, but passenger numbers stopped growing in part because the train was overcrowded to the extent that more people physically couldn't get on the (only) peak service. The train is now two or three times as long, the platform at Melksham Station has been extended, and passenger journeys are 25 times what they were, but that is still just a tenth of the numbers they should be and are seen at other stations in the area - Bradford-on-Avon, Chippenham and Trowbridge.
We can characterise it that we have moved from a useless service after 9th September 2006 to a sparse service with significant issues, but useable in many cases, as at 9th September 2026.
Outstanding issues are ...
1. Train reliability. 90% of trains run but on an infrequent service we really need 98% plus
2. Train frequency. We need a minimum of one train each way per hour and (really) two
3. Unfriendliness to new users of station and information and ticketing systems
We have moved forward - those issues are nothing like as dire as they were in 2007, and they are generally acknowledged, appreciated, and projected to be addressed in upcoming strategies. And they need to be. With population growth, the Melksham area is no longer just a little market town of around 12,000 which it was in 1966 when the station was originally closed under the Beeching Axe. These days, it's around 29,000 and under Government and a new local plan, we might anticipate that the population of the contiguous urban area may be between 40,000 and 45,000 on 9th September 2036. Whilst individual personal mobility needs may have shrunk a little, both road and rail capacities are "squeaking at the seams" and major attention needs to be given - not only to the acknowledged ideas but, NOW, to starting real actions to address them.
1. Train reliability is being addressed - and yet we have been told it "is being addressed" for the last 20 years and it remains stubbornly high. The "need" for a private company like First to make a profit and employ resources (staff and trains) as possible, and to move those resources to other more lucrative lines when there's a shortage is admitted. Come December, the operation is nationalised. The workforce will remain the same - excellent staff on the line and at stations when they are available (can't praise them enough) but a management that must have a question mark over it as to whether, having had 20 years to fix the reliability, it can do so with government rather than private equity direction. We will have to see and work with them to at least ensure it's at least stable - and to improve the customer experience when something goes wrong.
2. Train frequency needs enhanced infrastructure. The line was reduced to a single track from the junction near Chippenham ("Thingley") to the junction near Trowbridge ("Bradford") in 1967, with no signals in between so that trains ca't follow behind each other, and with no places for trains to pass each other or wait for a "slot" if the line is not available. With a single line, realistically, you can run one train each way every 40 minutes. If the line were double and signalled for the purpose, a headway of 8 minutes would be well within grasp. As a knock-on, that's going to require capacity at Westbury, Swindon and places between to be able to handle the extra trains, and/or re-instatement of triangle junctions at Bradford and Thingley to let some trains run to and from Bath and Bristol - which will bring up other capacity issues at those stations. Huge extra topic here - freight through Melksham, noting HMG's targets to increase rail freight massively
3. Let's face it, Melksham Station is at the back end of the business park, unstaffed and scarcely friendly. Whilst it's only a 10 minute walk from the Town Bridge, it feels like it's way out, accessed via an underpass which isn't as bad as it was (but!). There are no buses, no taxis unless booked, no loos, and no-one to help and re-assure you. The place is peppered with signs telling you what you can't do. There is not even a timetable to tell you - should you go to Swindon, Chippenham, Bristol Temple Meads, Trowbridge, Bath Spa or London (Paddington) - the most popular destinations - what time the trains come back!
Fixing each of these helps fix or mitigate the others!
* A more frequent service will reduce the upset caused by a cancellation - a 30 minute delay is less catastrophic than a delay from 15:39 to 18:10, for example.
* Extra Infrastructure will allow much more freight as well as more passenger service, and will make the service more reliable because the congestion and waiting issues will be reduced
* A real live person - a volunteer at the station with a little knowledge and a strong FAQ to fall back on - will allow for a loo to be provided, return timetable information given, and suggested actions advised in the event of delays or cancellations. Much is known / planned here - see (here) and (here)
Published Wednesday, 9th September 2026
School parking and school streets - Melksham South Ward
The Melksham News today highlights the School Streets Scheme that's coming into force for an 18 month trial, and the previous edition included a very wordy legal advert from Wiltshire Council listing new parking / yellow lines restrictions in and near the vicinity. The article is at https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/school-streetsThere has been, undoubtedly, a congestion, driving and parking issue around the Aloeric school for many years. The school predates the age when a high proportion of parents drove their children to school, and indeed these days parent can choose a school for which the only practicl access from their home is by private car. Which makes for a bit of a problem that the school was never designed to cope with.
I wish the initiative well; whilst I worry about a number of issues, something really needed to be done. Lots of cars manouvering around and lots of children and parents on foot weaving in and out of them is a recipe for a serious accident, and I can't see myself any better solution - I can't ask "why don't you xxxx?". But I worry about people accessing the vets and pub businesses there, and carrier deliveries. I worry about the zone and the yellow lines simply moving the cars and congestion into neighbouring streets. I worry about the cost and paperwork of setting up and monitoring all the various exemptions. And I worry about parents feeling a little miffed and picked on when they seem to be just about the only group which is NOT exempt. Fingers crossed that it will work.
The problem in not unique to the Aloeric School - the streets around Melksham Oak are also a sea of parked parents in the afternoon as they wait to collect their children. For the senior school, walking, cycling, public transport options may be there and could - I'm sure - be improved; there has been progress on that, but it can get worse as well as better as Melksham grows. Good to see plans for new housing, as they are approved, include public transport / bus provision, and it will make sense for school time journeys to run via Melksham Oak like the x34 does already.
Carrots not sticks are needed. The current solution feels too much like a stick. And there are potential carrots around. Better paths and school access to Hazelwood Road, and via Orchard Gardens to cut down on driving. An agreement with the pub to let their car park be used for pickups / drop offs at what's a quiet time of day in the pub trade. Perhaps a tuning of the x34 and local bus, though that limited resource is perhaps bette used at The Oak.
Published Wednesday, 26th August 2026
I'm a "Digital Creator" - what does that mean?
Graham Ellis - on FacebookPublic transport advocate and campaigner, retired IT trainer, retired hotelier and retired Town Councillor
Digital Creator * Melksham * The City University
Facebook describes me as a "Digital Creator". What does that mean?
On Facebook, a digital creator label on a profile means the user has Professional Mode turned on, which is a setting that helps people build a public presence and access performance analytics.
What the Label Indicates
Professional Mode Active: Facebook often enables this category automatically or prompts users to turn it on when they share public videos, Reels, or get a larger following.
Public Content: Profiles with this tag are set up to reach people outside their immediate circle of friends, pushing posts into wider feeds.
Access to Tools: It unlocks dashboard insights, follower data, and potential monetization features (though having the label does not mean the user is actively earning money or is a professional).
Common Misconceptions
Not Always Intentional: Many users report that Facebook assigned the "digital creator" title to their personal profile automatically without them asking for it.
Not Necessarily an Influencer: While some use it to build a brand or share original art, videos, and blogs, others are just regular users whose accounts defaulted to this setting.
And what does Google tell me?
What Digital Creators Do
Content Production: Research, write, film, and edit multimedia assets for platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or blogs.
Community Building: Interact with followers through comments, direct messages, and dedicated community spaces.
Business Operations: Manage publishing schedules, analyze performance metrics, and handle contracts
What do I make of that?
* I am happy with the Facebook "Digital Creator" label though it is not something I actively sought.
* I am happy with a wider readership that just my friends - much of what I write is potentially useful to others, especially some of the niche stuff that may come up in searches, and things I write and tag as public are thought through with that being considered. As I share widely, I am very much aware to respect the privacy of family, friends, and others, and issues such as copyright and the various safety-on-line and laws on permissable content.
* The insights tools and follower data are useful to me in helping provide feedback - telling me which posts gain tractions and which are whistling in the wind, for example. It's also useful to see things like the age mixes on popular posts. There is not necessarily a correlation between the number of reads, the number of likes, and the number of comments and helping to understand which posts are seen and read, but not generating a response, is useful. Long factual posts often get well read, but the "likes" come on short follow up comments that highlight one particular aspect.
Published Tuesday, 25th August 2026
Road works and bus services around them
Road work season!
* The 271 and 273 (and once-a-day 272 diversion) are skipping Whitley for a period of up to six weeks. The Zigzag (69 with an occasional 68) provides a much-reduced service through Whitley, with a need to change in Atworh if you're headed to or from Bath.
* The 271/2/3 are terminating early in Bath / outbound from the Guildhall until November - not serving the Railway Station on Manvers Street or the Bus Station. If you're headed to / from a change in Bath (trains, other buses, RUH) you'll probably want to walk across the city. A few routes (13, 228) are continuing to the bus station but they are sparse, and if you're going to the RUH the x76 - one service, Monday to Friday only, may work for you if you are lucky.
* The x34 soutbound out of Melksham toward Trowbridge is being diverted away from Semington Road past Berryfield for three weeks, resuming its normal route at the Police Station. Northbound buses are NOT diverted. Official recommendation is for returing home is to catch the bus to the police station and double back, but that can involve a long wait - especially at the weekend. The 12:08 bus on route 15 (Monday to Saturday) DOES still serve Berryfield, diverted in via the Police Station.
Oh dear! The buses are so important to many people who don't have the mobility to walk up to a mile to an alternative stop - that's why a lot of people use the bus - a necessity.
The bus operators, and to some extent the local authorities, are at the mercy of the utilities who - with certain notice - can dig up the roads as necessary. The utilities are - as I understand it - oblidged to provide car and business access to places within the work area, with an allowance made for them to delay traffic / divert it around if they have to. They are not obidged to provide access to buses that would normally pass through. The bus operators cannot divert their buses up to each end of the works - nowhere to turn around, and the timetable would go to pot for everyone. The Unitary Council, who are the local transport authority here, don't have the budget to buy in an extra service / vehicle to fill in the gaps. So no-one has the tools or structure to do much.
Local co-ordination - and Melksham Without are active in promoting this - may bring some compromises such as extra temporary bus stops, working with Wiltshire Council. But, sadly, there's no magic wand here and we / you have to make do as best you can with an inferior service - perhaps impractically inferior - during the works. This can (we know) put an extra load onto the Community Bus team, Link services to help people get to hospital, etc. Many people in the various organisations DO do their best to help, but there is no ideal solution and perhaps systemic change might be requires? There is certainly a balancing act between keeping the roads open and the safety of the workforce.
Published Monday, 17th August 2026
Observed in Europe. Would it work for Melksham?
Over the last 3 months, I have had the pleasure of travelling to many places in Europe. And although I am now retired from being a Town Councillor, I can't help but notice things and wonder how they might work, or might be best avoided, for Melksham. I remain active in transport and environment groups and with a keen interest in looking forward to a more sustanable and better future.
A water feature which entertains all the time and which chilren run and out of. Reggio de Calabria.
A Market Square with a fountain and table and chairs set out around, and traffic free. Wernigerode.
A small, simple, low cost station where never the less trains stop and pass each other going in different directions. Manowo.
Free parking at the station for people catching the train. Koszalin.
Specialist spices for sale in the market. Rotterdam Blaak.
Horse drawn taxi. Delft.
High density housing set around a green and pleasant park, with shops and public transport just across the way. Rosnowo.
A segratated area for safer wild-ish water swimming. Rosnowo.
A short train that connects with the longer distace ones and shuttles up and down to connect smaller communities into the national network. Mielno.
Lovely seafood. Wernigerode.
A river frontage with water taxisnup and down the waterway. Rotterdam.
Public stages and performances. Kolobrzeg.
Miniature brass artwork / sculptures. Kolobrzeg.
Dog park / exercise area with low level features that all dogs can safely entertain themselves with. Reggio de Calabria.
Music at the station - a piano for peoole to make use of themselves. Leipzig.
A shoe shop. Utrecht.
Cycling culture. Utrecht.
Long distance traun. Utrecht.
Clear waymarking from the town and the leisure areas to the station. Vlissingen.
Cobbled Market Square. Zittau.
Crossing the tracks changing between trains on the level. Zgorzelec.
Flowers at the station. Mariazell.
Cafe making a feature of famous local people. St Polten.
Making a feature of the river. Rheinfalls.Published Thursday, 13th August 2026
Tax on hotel guests staying overnight?
The Government has proposed legislation to allow councils at a "strategic" level to levy an overnight guest tax on tourists in England. These extra charges, already allowed in Scotland and common place in Europe, are just a small amount each night for each person, but they mount up. We have just paid €2.80 each Beherbergungssteuer per night in Leipzig - total €11.20 for the stay which may not sound a great deal, but these little charges add up. The idea of the charges is that they provide funding for local council services for the area being visited rather than the extra costs all falling on the residents - in other words that they help keep local council tax rates down, and more fairly spread the local income for services provided / supported locally. For tourist areas, I can understand the desire to have the visitor pay more equitably for the services they use - why should the residents of Bath or Stratford-upon-Avon pay for the extras street cleaning necessitated by the flood of guests? Indeed, there is logic for some sort of levy even on day visitors - but I'm not sure how practical that would be; it is being done - something of a geographic special case - in Venice for the peak months at least.
In Rostock, and in Zittau, I am heartened to see that payment of the tourist tax brings you a card which allows you to use local public transport without further charge. It makes sense. Guests in a town don't know the public transport and it's a hurdle for them to find out how to pay and not get caught by rules they don't know. It makes sense to encourage guests who drive into hotels to leave their cars there and encourage people stopping overnight to use trams, buses, and local trains to get around within the city. And it brings extra riders and income to the public transport / mass transit systems allowing them to run more economically, with fixed costs shared over more riders. Bonus perhaps of more frequent services for local use, and service that otherwise would not be viable can run.
An argument is made that says that hotel businesses have enough trouble making end meet without this extra 'tax', which will put people off coming to the town / area, and it's hard enough for those businesses as it is. We ran our place as, essentially, a hotel for over a decade. I don't think we would have seen much of a loss of custom for an extra £2 of £4 per day, especially if it applied at all other places locally. We WERE often chosen for being significantly lower cost than Bath, but assuming they also had an overnight guest tax it would not have effected our business. Tax localised to Melksham Town and, yes, it might have lead to some loss of custom to Beechfield House and TravelLodge, both of which are in Melksham Without.
One of the biggest costs of running a hotel is staffing - especially a place with a few rooms. There is talk of a room tax putting staff out of work, but in practise it's the cost of employing - salaries, taxes, training and other ancillaries that make a huge difference. Especially where staff are on duty for a handful of guests or perhaps for a late checkin. What we have noted, travelling around Europe for the last three months, that modern systems, efficiencies and changes have been made to allow overnight hospitality venues to function with a smaller team. Door entry codes, and lock boxes with keys are now common place and accepted. Rooms are typically serviced less frequently - on request / every 3 days perhaps automatically. Gone are the daily tidies. And it's this cost of staffing, and the need to be able to offer reasonable or competitive priced accommodation, that influences how places run these days. Not any extra tax on guests who - if they are coming to the town or area - will pay it no matter where they stay.
Published Monday, 3rd August 2026
On Government approval for 300 homes at Snarleton Farm
**Breaking news** - from the Melksham News: Government approves 300 homes at Snarlton Farm despite Neighbourhood Plan conflict. Plans for up to 300 homes on the edge of Melksham have been approved after the Secretary of State overturned Wiltshire Council’s decision to refuse the development. The government has allowed an appeal by Catesby Estates for the proposed development on land at Snarlton Farm, east of Eastern Way, despite the site being outside the settlement boundary and not allocated for housing in the Joint Melksham Neighbourhood Plan 2.Not a decision that is welcomed in the parishes or county, but it does not come as a surprise to me. Like many others, I put a lot of volunteer hours into the Neighbourhood Plan, and others at a wider and at a more skilled level have put uncounted paid hours into both helping the community put together the Neighbourhood Plan, and the Local Plan for the whole or Wiltshire. But whilst that gives us a degree of 'say' and influence, it does not make (any) of us - or the team as a whole - the ultimate arbitter. But just because we can't have everything we want, it does not mean we can't have or influence in our direction much of it.
The Neighbourhood Plan stands, and still provides a strong framework for how those new homes and associated infrasturcture will be tuned. We need to take as much local benefit from that as we can, whilst at the same time welcoming new residents to Melksham as they become "locals" too. And there are elements of that in the system. This site for these 300 homes is far from the worst that was looked at by neighbourhood and local plans and it was always going to be a tough one to defend with the Local Plan for Wiltshire having taken so long to come to examination that it failed there because the current government has shifted the goal posts. The current Wiltshire Council are now taking aim at the new goal, hoping to be quick enough to score this time; the previous and current administrations, as I understand it, are broadly aligned and both frustrated by the changes. But not letting themselves - correctly in my view - throwing up their hands in hooror at the current decision and giving up.
These should be read as personal comments and views. I was, for a while, a volunteer member of the Neighbourhood Plan steering group, representing the Town Council. That came to an end with the end of my term as a Town Councillor and I was glad to see the plan go on and be "made" a few months later. I still take an interest and friends keep me informed out of, perhaps, kindness and because I'm also far freer to comment and explain than those who remain in post - paid or volunteers. We have some really excellent people who's heart and professionalism and dedication is to be admired, and at the time that "battles" are "lost" (I hate those competitive words) we should them, admire them and support and work with them for the post-decision times so that we make the very best for the future of Melksham.
Published Wednesday, 29th July 2026
Train services across Wiltshire - can we make them work better?
70 members a day logged in to our forum ... but very few votes (less than a half of the number we get in most polls). I don't know of that's because the poll was posted at a busy time and rapidly fell off the 'front page', or whether members weren't inspired or comfortable to answer. Personally speaking, I go a bit for the latter. The current train services, with so many cancellations and part runs, are something that I'm at a loss to suggest a solid fix for, and I can't see a quick fix, even if money were to be thrown at the issue. And the problems are made that much worse by just how popular train travel has become - passenger numbers growing but available, running trains shrinking and the result is hideous overcrowding on a small proportion of trains.
Therein lies another problem. 300 people turn up for a 2 carriage train and 300 people get upset because it really can't cope, whereas another 2 carriage train with just 50 passengers and it works very well - but only 50 people report it to be satisfactory ... and some of them will return home as part of the bigger crowd and THAT is what they will report. In the example, 50% of trains are overcrowded, but 86% report overcrowding and dissatisfaction.
So how did our voting go?
100 Infrastructure, track and trains that can cope better with modern weather better should be acquired
71 More trains should be available to better cope with failures
43 Bus and train companies should work much better together to provide alternatives
29 We should lower our hopes and expectations
29 Key skeleton services (all stations, every 2 hours?) should be guaranteed
14 Timetables should be reduced for summer and winter months to cope with weather extremes
14 We should accept that timetables are much more guidance than rules
14 Train services should start earlier, finish later and have a break in the middle of the day
0 We should cut routes into short sections to reduce the spread of delays and cancellations
0 None of the above
Members were able to vote for multiple options and averaged 3. 100% of them (that's the first column) suggested that track and trains able to cope with modern (changed) weather should be acquired. Of the 9 options offered, everyone who voted considered we should take at least one action - no votes at all for "None of the above".
But we have had 20 YEARS of the same team of First Group (as FGW then GWR) running our trains - they took over on 1st April 2006, and for all of those 20 years the Department for Transport have been seen / cast (with questionable allocation of blame) as the culprits in allowing the setup to "fail" in the way it is doing. Or is it failing? Should I accept that there will be days like Friday - 2 days ago - when 4 trains out of 18 were cancelled at my local station because there wasn't a working train available at all, or today - Sunday - when 4 trains out of 14 are already cancelled (I'm writing this at first light) because there aren't staff available to work the train. Should we accept that providing a service that always runs as it is advertised and with capacity to take everyone is an expensive business, and that a service that works 80% of the time is adequate and affordable, and indeed people will still use it.
And people do want and use the public transport we have. Early yesterday evening, I walked around Melksham in the Carnival Parade handing out bus and train timetables. Huge thanks to Sharon, Justin and Daniel walking with me to hand them out. They ONLY went to those who wanted them - we were offering them and not thrusting them at people, many hands came out and we were rationing to one per family / group. We still handed out around 900 - perfectly to plan - though the parade at times moved too quickly for us to even skim-offer to every group.
One question asked of me "why aren't you running the Weymouth trains this year?". Well - they ARE running every Saturday - there's a trough train from Melksham to Weymouth at 09:10, returns at 19:38 and it's a lovely day. But we aren't promoting it hard and we're leaving a market untapped. Because the train is already full and standing for the last segment of the journey into Weymouth in the morning, and we are not going to be irresponsible and cause a problem. This year that train is 3 carriages all the way; in previous years it was 5, 6 and even 8 carriages. If you are reading this, please don't be put off going - at Melksham there is plenty of space as there is on the evening return, you WILL get on and get a good seat both ways.
At times there are busy buses too, but they are now far more reliable than the trains. That's perverse, seeing as they have to share road infrastructure with other congesting traffic rather than having a private right of way. And to and from Melksham for shorter journeys, the bus is dominant. It has improved hugely over the years on the main arteries. Modern technologies such as MyTrip and Tiger offer an undreamed of ability to learn of disruption and work / travel in different ways and work with and around them. Pure luxury, and time saving, to be able to sit at home, learn of disruption, and only go to the railway station - or out to the bus stop for a running service.
But there remains - and 43% of my sample suggested it - a need for better information flows across all public transport. The Melksham Bus and Train timetable - bringing together all six operators - is reached out for by people, they love having everything in one place. Contrast that to a friend travelling to Melksham yesterday to assist in the Carnival parade. His train into Chippenham was delayed and he was 60 minutes after his plan into there. Which meant that the half past three train had gone and the next one would be 6 O'clock. He asked for advice from the station staff who (I'm sure were polite) had nothing to offer, and by the time he walked out to the bus stops to see what they had to offer, he was in time to see the 16:35 bus for Melksham just leaving.
Conclusions? None, I'm afraid. The local bus operators are actually doing rather well. The train system is failing to deliver a reliable service with the capacity that people are turning up to use. And whilst we are moving on from a company operated system to a nationalised system, it's the same managers who have failed to deliver for 20 years who will still be there, reporting to the same government ministry that has failed - for 20 years - to guide and regulate the provision. Some things are better, but realistically I have little hope of much improvement in reliability or capacity while at the same time some people are desperate to have a system that works for them, and indeed will put up with a system that includes a degree of failure to deliver on timetable, reliability, capacity and other promises.
Illustration - crowds are not unique to our region or indeed our country. This picture is a crowd scene I took in May in Hamburg; it is usually very difficult when you're actually in a crowd and trying to travel to take a picture of it and the station layout in Hamburg helped me.
Published Sunday, 19th July 2026
Melksham has an interest in getting around
Of nine letters to the Melksham News this week, five concern getting around the town safely. They concern:* The Melksham Bypass
* The High Pavement
* Traffic Chaos
* Speed Indicator Devices
* Pavements must be safe for Walkers
and they show just how important all the aspects of travel and transport are to people.
Over the last two months, I have been travelling and I have been struck by how things differ in cities, towns and villages as near as Swindon and as far as St Polten, Melk, Villach and Utrecht. Some of these are old cities - and they have similar problems to Melksham as to how to squeeze the quart of requirements into the pint pot of available space. How have they addressed them?
By pedestrianising large parts of then town.
By allowing electric scooters as a norm.
By having frequent local buses and good connectivity to trains.
By making it comfortable for people to cycle and feel and be safe as they do so.
Published Thursday, 16th July 2026