21.09.15
Trowbridge station overhaul marks first step in TransWilts line upgrade
A series of improvements have been completed at Trowbridge station as part of a four-month £1m investment.
The overhaul was delivered jointly by First Great Western (now called Great Western Railway, or GWR), Wiltshire Council, Network Rail and the TransWilts Community Rail Partnership.
The station, built in the 1840s and which now serves nearly 500,000 passengers per year, has been fitted with new waiting shelters, ticket vending machines, cycle parking shelters, handrails, upgraded steps and ramp and an electric car charging point.
The station serves Bath, Bristol and Swindon direct, with services to London and the south west available via Westbury, one stop south.
Claire Perry, rail minister, said: “The enhancements at Trowbridge station are going to make journeys better for all customers. They are significant improvements that provide the local community and businesses with a station fit for the 21st century.”
Cllr Horace Prickett, portfolio holder for transport at Wiltshire Council, said he was “delighted” with the new and improved service and said the station’s use would be boosted along with the success of the TransWilts train service – launched in December 2014 and run by GWR on behalf of the council with government funding.
It is essential that people use the service – which runs every two hours with stops at Swindon, Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge and Westbury – or it will be discontinued after 2015.
“It is anticipated that this will be the first step in the transformation of the TransWilts Swindon to Westbury line with the next step having the service extended to Salisbury and possibly to Southampton Airport, to give real connectivity to Trowbridge, Wiltshire’s county town,” he said.
(Top image c. Wiltshire Council)