Rail Replacement

Not an emergency arrangement to replace a failed train or blocked line, as maybe suggested in the title, but an accurate description of our recently acquired route 881!

As a bit of a transport history anorak, I am very much aware of where railway lines used to run and two branch lines that have always fascinated me are those that used to run from Kemble to both Cirencester and Tetbury.

The 881 service acts as an effective replacement for both! It runs from Tetbury to Cirencester via Kemble station, serving the towns and villages that both lines were perported to serve. The obvious advantage of the bus is that it can actually serve these locations whereas the stations and halts on these lines could be some distance away (especially noticable in the case of Rodmarton where the halt was well over a mile away from the village!).

If only the passenger numbers were comparable to the final days of the rail services in 1964!

I have now driven this route a few times and find it to be one of the most enjoyable routes that we currently operate. The only down side is that whilst travelling into and out of Kemble Station, we are forced to travel the length of a huge car park that during the week is always filled to capacity! After all, the car is our biggest competitor and whilst I fully understand that most of these drivers have no realistic alternative to car use due to the rural nature of the territory, I am sure that a small percentage might find using the bus a convenient and less stressful option! What a difference a few extra regular passengers could make!

Doing what we can to right the wrongs of the Beeching era!