If you’re not familiar with south west England, it may shock you to find out that despite not being far from each other on the map, there hasn’t been a direct train service between Bristol and Oxford for the past 20 years.
Right now, travellers have to change at Didcot Parkway or Reading to get from one of these marvellous cities to the other. But finally, Great Western Railway is planning resurrect a direct route which was last seen all the way back in 2003.
From September 14, two return journeys between Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford will take place every Saturday for a four-month trial period. Though that’s only if the service gets approval from the Department of Transport, which GWR is still waiting on.
If it gets the green light, the service will also include stops at Bath Spa, Chippenham and Swindon. The quickest journey is predicted to take around one hour 11 minutes, just marginally quicker than the fastest route available at the moment, which takes around one hour and 14 minutes via Didcot Parkway.
Mark Hopwood, GWR’s managing director, said: ‘We’re always looking at innovative ways of creating new business and improving connectivity.
‘Changing customer patterns since Covid have provided a clear opportunity for us to expand our leisure offering and the Bristol-Oxford route is one which offers real potential.’
Rail companies are kicking off 2024 with lots of exciting announcements. There’s talk of a brand new, faster London to Sheffield service that could arrive next year plus a speedier route between London and Edinburgh is awaiting the go-ahead from the Department of Transport.
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