A proposal has been made for hourly rail services between Oxford, Swindon and Bristol.
The move is backed by Swindon Borough Council, North Swindon MP Will Stone and regional transport bodies.
Mr Stone said: “Given the relatively short distance between Swindon and Oxford, current connectivity is poor. An hourly train link will significantly cut down journey times by rail and will further strengthen the economic linkages between our two places in a mutually beneficial way.
“Swindon is one of the most productive towns in the UK, and with the Panattoni site developing, its employment offer will only grow to both local residents and the wider area.
"The route also offers the people of Swindon an easier path to working within Oxford as well as giving families a faster route to tour one of the UK's oldest cities, and will support both the economies of Swindon and Oxford to prosper and grow.”
Cllr Chris Watts, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: “Next week we are hosting a major summit in Westminster where we will be encouraging senior figures from the worlds of finance, business and government to invest in Swindon.
“Part of that pitch will centre on how Swindon’s continued economic success is built on its excellent connectivity by road and rail so I’m fully behind the proposal to make the hourly direct train service to Oxford permanent. We are already fortunate that we are able to reap the benefits of the electrification of the Great Western Rail Line, and are strategically well placed to benefit from the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
“We are extremely keen to improve our transport links to Oxford and beyond, working with partners from England’s Economic Heartland so we can strengthen our relationships with educational institutions and our businesses can forge closer alliances with each other across the region.”
Subject to approval from Government, the new service could start as early as next year, building on a successful GWR trial.
Currently rail passengers travelling between Swindon and Oxford are forced to change at Didcot, while bus and car journeys on the A420 are often slow.
A new report setting out the case for the service says it would cut journey times between Swindon and Oxford to around half an hour. Better linking between Swindon, Oxford and Bristol, those behind the bid say, would fuel economic growth by better connecting high performing, knowledge-intensive sectors and universities at the heart of the Government’s new industrial strategy.
The new service would also put people in Swindon within a single change at Oxford of new East West Rail services to Bicester Village and Milton Keynes, which are set to commence by the end of the year.
The operational cost to the Government of providing the new service is said to be in the low single figure millions and it is predicted that passenger fares will more than cover this outlay.
The report was produced by England’s Economic Heartland (EEH) sub-national transport body (STB), which covers the area from Swindon and Oxfordshire through to Cambridgeshire, alongside its neighbouring STB, Western Gateway and the East West Main Line Partnership. The report is available on EEH's website: https://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/news/oxford-swindon-bristol-rail-services
The plans form a central part of their submissions to the Government’s consultation on its forthcoming Spending Review, which will set out how public money is allocated over the next few years.
Supporters of the proposal also include Swindon North MP Will Stone, Swindon Borough Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, Great Western Railway and Network Rail.
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