CELEBRATIONS were in full swing in December to mark ten years since TransWilts services were increased between Westbury and Swindon.
The services in that time have clocked up more than one million passenger-carrying miles – the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back twice.
To celebrate, a special cake was cut at Westbury station in a 10th anniversary celebration attended by representatives from Westbury Town Council, Wiltshire Council, TransWilts Community Rail Partnership, Melksham Town Council, Melksham User Group and GWR.
The extra services were provided in a joint partnership between Wiltshire Council, Great Western Railway (GWR), the Department for Transport and local users.
Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport, cllr Caroline Thomas, said, “This ten-year anniversary marks an incredible milestone for Wiltshire, as it celebrates a decade since we jointly invested in additional services from Westbury through to Swindon by rail.
“The Department for Transport said they would take over and operate the services if there was sufficient demand after three years. The services did so well that they didn’t even need to wait the three years! This milestone is testament to the hard work of TransWilts Community Rail and our partnership working, and we look forward to the line serving the county for many more years to come.”
TransWilts community rail officer, Sophie Martin, said, “We are proud to have been part of the journey over the last ten years on the TransWilts. Not only have we seen passenger numbers increase, we are particularly pleased to have attracted numerous schoolchildren and young adults to the trains, many for the first time. We look forward to building on that success in the years to come.”
GWR business assurance and strategy director, Joe Graham, said, “We were delighted to work in partnership with Wiltshire Council and TransWilts Community Rail Partnership to improve rail links, and it is heartening to see them still proving popular with customers ten years on.
“When these extra services were introduced the TransWilts became the fastest growing community rail line in the country – so much so that not only did the Department for Transport adopt the services earlier than expected, but we had to double the capacity by going from a single carriage service to the two carriages you see today.
“We look forward to building on the success of the TransWilts line and using it as a model for success on other parts of the GWR network.”
