page_title: Transport in Swindon
section_title: Canals
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in Swindon / Canals
context_page_description: 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 and the Great Western Railway Main Line, Swindon's transport connections are adequate to the needs of a growing town.
context_section_description: In 1775, an act of parliament was passed authorising the building of the Wilts and Berks Canal, a "waterway that would link the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Trowbridge with the River Thames at Abingdon.." It reached Swindon in 1804 and Abingdon in 1810. In all, 58 miles (93 km) 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 at Latton, near Cricklade. Consisting of 9 miles (14 km) of waterway and twelve locks, 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.
caption: A section of the canal near Rushey Platt, Swindon
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