Spacious Station Forecourt Given The Right Away

Work on Swindon's railway station forecourt will start within a few weeks after contracts were signed on the £1.75 million scheme.

The plan will include a far-greater pedestrian space, smaller taxi rank, the return of the Jubilee Clock to the town centre after being cleaned and repaired and greenery.

Swindon Centric Says ; The amount of money is relatively small, but will make a big difference to one of Swindon's most important gateways, we'll keep you updated on the work.

Does Swindon Need To Follow Twitter?

Twitter has become the latest tool in communicating news and reaction to the news. But the revolution in communication is passing some of Swindon's most prominent names by.

Swindon Borough Council has a small collection of twitter accounts, but are infrequently used.

The regeneration arm of the Borough Council, Forward Swindon, had a twitter account that was updated up until around a year ago, but the trace of which isn't anywhere on their revamped website.

Thamesdown Transport and Stagecoach don't have twitter accounts, which compares to the excellent use of the service by First Great Western.

The praise for the best twitter account goes to Swindon Borough Council's Local Studies & Family History section, always diverting and intriguing.

Swindon Centric Says ; Are companies and organisations in Swindon missing a huge trick by ignoring social media and thinking that it'll just go away?

UPDATE : Thanks to the Wyvern Theatre for letting Swindon Centric know about their excellent Twitter account, to be found at @ WyvernTheatre or by clicking here.

The Sparks Effect For Swindon- Hooray!

The Great Western Main Line, through Swindon to Cardiff will be electrified, with the delayed decision that was announced today.

At long last (though it won't happen any earlier than 2014 if you read the detail) the golden egg for railway investment, electrification, will happen for passengers from Swindon.

Swindon Centric Says ; Of course, whether the Department for Transport can get to grips with the Intercity Express Project and whether bi-modal trains will work in squadron service will be closely watched.

But Swindon's going to be 'under the wires', for THE railway town, it's a wonderful addition!

Sparks Effect Not Extinguished By CSR

The electrification of the Great Western Main Line wasn't mentioned by the Chancellor yesterday, and sources say the scheme is "in the balance" reports Wales Online (Swindon Centric isn't able to cut and paste this into a hyperlink at the moment, but a quick Google search will find it).

The source quote in full says "This is genuinely in the balance, and we are doing all we can to see if it can be done. Do not read anything into the fact it was not mentioned by George Osbourne in his statement."

Swindon Centric Says ; A phased scheme, to Reading and then onto Oxford and eventually to Swindon and Westwards might grease Osbourne's wheels.

Rail Town Councillors Show Their Poor Knowledge Of The Railway

Councillors meeting staff from Network Rail and First Great Western to discuss railway travel showed little professionalism when it came to the questions asked. Councillor Peter Greenhalgh (for Freshbrook and Grange Park) said that for him there is no incentive to use the train. He missed the incentive of the smaller environmental impact and when reading his comment and question in full, sounds more like an angry and narked rant from a passenger than a representative of the people.

His colleague, councillor Peter Mallinson (for Walcot) faired little better. He was appalled that people have to stand and "can't believe it's in line with health and safety". Maybe if he'd done his homework he could have answered his own question that there is no legal limit on number of passengers in a railway carriage, says the Office Of Rail Regulation. The question was pointless when directed at Network Rail and First Great Western, as they don't set the rule on capacity.

Swindon Centric Says ; Can someone arrange for Mr Greenhalgh and Mr Mallinson to visit the Department for Environment and Office Of Rail Regulation respectively and explain to them what their policies are and what they do?

First Great Western's Millions & The Missing Stories

Swindon's train company today announced a £29 million plan to boost stagnant service. The details include the leasing of five additional trains for local services and an additional high speed train to make things, as they say more "resilient".

A national newspaper reported on a cock-up in the publishing of FGW's reliability figures from August to December last year. Yes, you've guessed it, local media failed to read The Guardian and cover the story. They instead were only aware of the investment money and nothing further.

Swindon Centric Says ; Poor coverage, once again, from the home of the GWR and of the current FGW. Our news reliability figures are nothing to shout about either.