Rail campaigners in Wiltshire are jubilant after the Government backed their ideas for an improved service on the Trans Wilts line from Swindon to Salisbury.

Wiltshire County Council has been awarded £4.25 million to improve services and stations along the line and to integrate the new rail services with buses.

Campaigners have been calling for the current two-trains-each-way “service” to be boosted.

Railfuture’s Nigel Bray said: “This is excellent news because the bid, for a mixture of capital and revenue funding, was to increase the train service between Swindon and Westbury from two trains each way to eight.”

Councillor Dick Tonge, the cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We are delighted that we have been successful in securing this government funding which will make a positive improvement to our rail services in the county.

“Improved train services and better access to stations will mean fewer people using the car and a boost for local businesses as the county will have even better transport connections.

“This grant is seed money to get the service started. The long-term success of this project will depend on the number of passengers using it. We will be entering negotiations with the rail company as soon as possible.”

A decision had been expected in May on the council’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund bid, which was supported by Railfuture.

The Trans Wilts line had been chosen as the centrepiece of the LSTF bid.

Stations along the route are earmarked to become transport hubs, with easier interchange with buses, better signage, cycling and walking routes.

The stations along the line are Chippenham, Melksham, Trowbridge, Westbury, Dilton Marsh and Warminster.

The bid also included the restoration of a bus link from Warminster station to Longleat and a plan to create one from Salisbury station to Amesbury.

Graham Ellis of the Trans Wilts Rail campaign outlined the need for a better rail service when he spoke at Railfuture’s Salisbury conference in 2008.

He said that in winter, Melksham station did not have a daytime train even though the journey to Salisbury takes only 35 minutes, compared to the 95 minutes on the “express” bus.

More info: TWR