Transport in Swindon, England, and the surroundings has directly contributed to the town's growth and the ingress of businesses and industries. Located on the

M4 Corridor The M4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. It is a major high-technology hub. Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London, Slough, Brackne ...

and the Great Western Railway Main Line, Swindon's transport connections are adequate to the needs of a growing town.

Road

Historic

The town of Swindon lies near a junction of two

Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

which passed close to the site of the Roman fortified town of

Durocornovium Durocornovium was a Roman town in Britain, situated on the Roman road between Corinium Dobunnorum (Cirencester) and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). In many ways Durocornovium was a typical small Roman town. Site The town, encompassing around 25 ...

Ermin Way Ermin Street or Ermin Way was a Roman road in Britain. It linked Glevum (Gloucester) and Corinium (Cirencester) to Calleva (Silchester). At Glevum, it connected to the road to Isca (Caerleon), the legionary base in southeast Wales. At Corini ...

passed to the east of the town and was the route from

Corinium Corinium Dobunnorum was the Romano-British settlement at Cirencester in the present-day England, English counties of England, county of Gloucestershire. Its 2nd-century walls enclosed the second-largest area of a city in Ancient Romans, Roman Ro ...

(

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

) to Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester). Secondly a road from Cunetio ( Mildenhall, near Marlborough) joined the Ermin Way near Durocornovium. The ancient path of

the Ridgeway The ancient tree-lined path winds over the downs countryside The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ...

passes to the south of the town.

Turnpikes

With the expansion of the quarries and also the introduction of the Turnpike Act (1706), the four main access roads into the town were turned into turnpikes between 1751 and 1775. These were joined by the Swindon to

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Ridg ...

road completed in 1757, and the Swindon to

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

road in 1761. Toll houses were also placed on the roads to

Stratton St Margaret Stratton St Margaret is a civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The parish covers north-eastern suburbs of Swindon including Stratton St Margaret itself along with Upper Stratton, Lower Stratton and Kingsdown. Since May 20 ...

, Marlborough,

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...

and

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

. Residents of Rodbourne Cheney and the Liddiard's came into Swindon via roadways that linked Shaw and Rushey Platt with the gate at Kingshill. The amount levied depended on the type of cart, the number of horses used and the width of wheels (as narrower wheels caused more damage to the road).

Roads and Motorways

Major roads near or passing through Swindon: * M4 motorway – London to South Wales, Junctions 15 and 16 * A3102 – Swindon to Malmesbury * A346 – Swindon to Ludgershall * A361/A4361 – Devon to Northamptonshire * A419 –

Chiseldon Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It takes its name from the Old English cisel dene, or gravel valley, being noted in the Domesday Book as ''Chiseldene''. The village lies on the edge of ...

Whitminster __NOTOC__ Whitminster is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, and on the A38 road, A38 trunk road approximately south of Gloucester and north-west of Stroud. The parish population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 censu ...

, Gloucestershire * A420 – Bristol to Oxford * A4259 – Swindon to Wanborough

Roundabouts

The town is famous for its roundabouts, to the extent of selling yearly calendars featuring a different roundabout for each month. The most notable roundabout is the Magic Roundabout that lies at the junction of Drove Road, Queens Drive and Fleming Way near to the County Ground. The official name of this roundabout used to be County Islands, although hardly anyone other than officials called it by this name. The official name was changed in the late 1990s to match its popular name. It is the subject of a pop song by local band

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

. Locals often refer to it by the colloquial name of "The Tragic Roundabout" due to the many motor-accidents that occur on it, usually caused by drivers not familiar with its operation. Accidents frequently occur on matchdays for Swindon Town F.C. and at weekends, where the increased traffic at these periods can be a contributory factor in causing them.

Speed cameras

In 2009 Swindon became the first English local council to abandon the use of fixed

speed cameras A traffic enforcement camera (also red light camera, speed camera, road safety camera, road rule camera, photo radar, photo enforcement, Gatso, safety camera, bus lane camera, flash for cash, Safe-T-Cam, No contact apprehension camera dependin ...

, arguing that the £320,000 a year cost did not represent an effective way to reduce road accidents. Mobile cameras continue to operate. Within four years the town was the safest town to drive in the UK, based on accident rates per 1,000 registered vehicles. Counsellor Peter Greenhalgh, the Cabinet Member for Council Transformation, Transport and Strategic Planning, linked the finding to the removal of speed cameras and resultant additional funding for road safety, alongside close working with the police.

Coaches

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

operate a number of services from Swindon including the 222 which starts in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and continues on to

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

and

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

airports and the 403 which operates between Bath, Heathrow Airport and London

Buses

Urban buses were introduced into Swindon in 1927, after the abandonment of the

Wilts and Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a b ...

. Operated by Swindon Corporation, they made the tram network redundant by 1929. Swindon Corporation Buses became Thamesdown Transport in 1974 when the council boundaries and name changed. Later a limited company to comply with the

Transport Act 1985 The Transport Act 1985 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced privatised and deregulated bus services throughout Great Britain and came into effect in October of 1986. The Act was created as a response to growing concern ...

with the council as a major shareholder and subsidiser, Thamesdown Transport was Swindon's largest urban bus operator. It was sold in February 2017 to the

Go-Ahead Group The Go-Ahead Group plc is a passenger transport company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Norway and Germany. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, in 2022 it was purchased ...

and rebranded Swindon's Bus Company. Swindon's second oldest operator, after Thamesdown Transport, is

Stagecoach West Stagecoach West is the trading name of Cheltenham & Gloucester Omnibus Company Limited, a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. ...

, the successor to the Swindon branch of

Bristol Tramways Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables. History The first trams in Brist ...

established in 1921. Formerly part of the National Bus Company and operating under the name Swindon and District, it was privatised in 1986 and absorbed into the Stagecoach Group in 1993. The former Stagecoach Bus Depot on Eastcott Road has been approved for development as a housing site.

Rail

Trams

See Swindon Corporation Tramways

Trains

Great Western Railway

Swindon was chosen as the site of the Great Western Railway's

Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...

in 1841, an event which led to the creation of a Railway Town known as New Swindon and the eventual amalgamation into the town today. The works covered a site of and became the focal point for the creation of New Swindon and the influx of over 10,000 new residents in the next 50 years. In its heyday, the railway employed over 14,000 people in Swindon and the main locomotive fabrication workshop, the ''A Shop'' was, at , one of the largest covered areas in the world. The factory had to be immediately adjacent to the railway, and it was necessary for the workers to be housed as close as possible to it. As the town of Swindon at that time was over a mile away on top of the hill, a modest Railway Village of 300 homes was proposed in 1841. Building began using stone from Swindon's quarries and also from stone excavated during the boring of

Box Tunnel Box Tunnel passes through Box Hill on the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Bath and Chippenham. The tunnel was the world's longest railway tunnel when it was completed in 1841. Built between December 1838 and June 1841 for the Great We ...

, 243 houses were completed by 1853 with the towns population being estimated at over 2,500. All 300 houses were completed by the mid-1860s. Consequently, a new town was built, known as New Swindon. This town would remain both physically and administratively separate from Old Swindon until the creation of Swindon Corporation in 1900. Swindon railway station was opened in 1842 and until 1895 every passing train stopped here for at least 10 minutes to change locomotives. As such Swindon station hosted the first recorded Railway refreshment rooms. In 1962 building of new locomotives ceased at Swindon. Locomotive repairs and carriage and wagon work continued, though the original carriage and wagon workshop was sold. The whole works closed in 1986, but one building currently houses

Swindon Steam Railway Museum STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, also known as Swindon Steam Railway Museum, is housed in part of the former railway works in Swindon, England – Wiltshire's 'railway town'. The museum opened in 2000. The site The museum is ...

. The engineers' office is now the headquarters of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, and purpose-built storage now houses the

English Heritage Archive The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway. It is a public archive of architectural and arch ...

. Most of the remaining buildings are used as part of the Swindon Designer Outlet Village.

Midland and South Western Junction Railway

Known as ''Swindon's other railway'', the

Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...

was formed in 1884 and ran trains from Andover to Cheltenham. A station was sited in Old Town,

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

, and is now listed as

Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon Old Town Railway Cutting () is a 1.78 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Swindon, Wiltshire, notified in 1975. It is near the site of the former Swindon Town railway station. The site is notable for an unusual exposure o ...

a site of special scientific interest. GWR absorbed the company before the railways were nationalised in 1948. The line finally closed in 1961.

Today

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Swindon railway station and the majority of services passing through the town; the company's headquarters are located in Milford Street. The frequent trains to London (51 minutes journey time) and Bristol (37 minutes journey time via Bath) on the Great Western Main Line have contributed to a large number of commuters moving to the town. The Golden Valley Line to

Cheltenham Spa Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

was reduced to a single track in 1968 but the second track was reinstated in 2014. This increased capacity and removed bottlenecks to enable further growth of the Swindon conurbation. Swindon is well served by long-distance railway lines but lacks any suburban rail services. Swindon railway station is the only national rail station within the town or the surrounding borough. Those who wish to travel into the town centre from the suburbs must use either local bus services or private transport. The only other railway stations in the borough are on the

Swindon and Cricklade Railway The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a heritage railway in Wiltshire, England, that operates on a short section of the old Midland and South Western Junction Railway line between Swindon and Cricklade. Swindon and Cricklade Railway is a regis ...

. It operates on a small section of the former

route for enthusiasts and tourists, running Steam Trains between

Blunsdon railway station Blunsdon railway station is a former railway station, now operating as a heritage railway station. It was built to serve the village of Blunsdon, north of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, although located within the boundaries of Purton. Histo ...

and

Hayes Knoll railway station Hayes Knoll railway station is found on the heritage Swindon and Cricklade Railway in Wiltshire, England. Hayes Knoll station was built in 1999 as part of the work to reopen the section of the former Midland and South Western Junction Railway ...

Future

On the Great Western Main Line, there are plans to increase the number of tracks to four between Swindon and Didcot. There are plans to provide a direct rail link to Heathrow Airport by 2026. The heritage Swindon and Cricklade Railway is due to extend North to Cricklade and South towards Moulden Hill.

Canals

In 1775, an act of parliament was passed authorising the building of the

, a "waterway that would link the Kennet and Avon Canal at

Semington Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.

, near

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southeas ...

with the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

at Abingdon.." It reached Swindon in 1804 and Abingdon in 1810. In all, of waterway was created. In 1813, another act of parliament was passed authorising the North Wilts Canal, a proposal by the Thames & Severn Canal Company and the Wilts & Berks Canal Company to link the canal at Swindon with the

Thames and Severn Canal The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south-west of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a cargo route from Bristol and the Midlands to London, linking England's two largest rivers for bett ...

at Latton, near Cricklade. Consisting of of waterway and twelve

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, it was completed in 1814. The two canals were consolidated in 1821 and brought together under the auspices of the Wilts & Berks Navigation Company. With the railways providing a faster and cheaper method of transport, the canal was relatively unused by 1895. It was dredged in 1908, but declared ruined soon after. It was finally closed under the ''Wilts & Berks Canal Abandonment Act, 1914'' and partly filled in. A new route for the canal to the south of the town is under development, with the first section opened at Wichelstowe in 2011.

Cycling

Swindon has an extensive network of cycle paths with interactive and pdf maps available as well as cycle parking.

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

Route 45 runs through Swindon.

Air

Civil airfields existed in Swindon's immediate surroundings up until the mid 20th century, with a small airfield at

South Marston South Marston is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village is about north-east of Swindon town centre. History The earliest documentary evidence for continuous settlement dates from the 13th centu ...

(X2SO) attached to the

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...

factory, now the site of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

. The nearest civilian airfield with a concrete runway is now at Kemble, with major international air traffic using Bristol Airport.

International airports

* Bristol Airport – – 47 miles via M4. * Heathrow Airport – – 65 miles via M4. *

Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...

– 46 miles – 61 miles via M4, A34. *

Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Caerdydd) is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. It has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. Pa ...

– 68 miles – 85 miles via M4. *

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

– 62 miles – 89 miles via A419, M5, M42. *

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

– 74 miles – 95 miles via M4, M3, M25, M23. *

Exeter Airport Exeter Airport , formerly ''Exeter International Airport'', is an international airport located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon, close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England. Exeter has a CAA Public Use Aero ...

– 91 miles – 116 miles via M4, M5.

Local airfields

Cotswold Airport Cotswold Airport (formerly Kemble Airfield) is a private general aviation airport, near the village of Kemble in Gloucestershire, England. Located southwest of Cirencester, it was built as a Royal Air Force (RAF) station and was known as RAF ...

(EGBP) –

Kemble, Gloucestershire Kemble is a village in the civil parish of Kemble and Ewen, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. Historically part of Wiltshire, it lies from Cirencester and is the settlement closest to Thames Head, the source of the River ...

– 14 miles northwest. *Draycott (X2SW) – (near

) – grass strip accepting

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...

and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s – 5 miles south. *Oaksey Park (EGTW) –

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

– 11 miles northwest.

Military airfields

MoD Lyneham Ministry of Defence Lyneham or MOD Lyneham is a Ministry of Defence site in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Chippenham and southwest of Swindon. The site houses the Defence School of Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Also here is Pr ...

– 9 miles southwest – formerly

RAF Lyneham Royal Air Force Lyneham otherwise known as RAF Lyneham was a Royal Air Force station located northeast of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and southwest of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The station was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transpor ...

, EGDL *

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

– 10 miles north *

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The statio ...

– 16 miles northeast *

Netheravon Airfield Netheravon Airfield is a Ministry of Defence grass strip airfield on Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1913 by the Royal Flying Corps, it became RAF Netheravon from 1918 until 1963, then AAC Netheravon ( Army Air Corps) until ...

(EGDN) – grass strip – Army *

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

(X2UA) – grass strip – formerly EGDJ *Wanborough (X2WB) – closed *Wroughton (X2RN) – closed – formerly

RAF Wroughton RAF Wroughton is a former Royal Air Force airfield near Wroughton, in Wiltshire, England, about south of Swindon. Ministry of Defence aviation activity ceased in 1972. The airfield now belongs to the Science Museum Group and is home to th ...

, EGDT

References

{{reflist

External links

Swindon Travel Choices
Swindon