The Office for Rail and Road has approved Great Western Railway’s application to run a daily two-hourly direct rail service between the three places on weekdays and Saturdays.

The new service, which is hoped may become hourly in the future, builds on a Saturday trial of the new route.

The approved service is subject to Network Rail implementing level crossing safety measures.

A spokesman for the Office for Rail and Road said the two-hourly weekday and Saturday services between Oxford, Swindon and Bristol is effective from May 2026 to December 2027.

A Great Western Railway service (Image: Supplied)

He said this was agreed after analysing information and representations about the “impact on punctuality and reliability” as well as level crossing safety.

“However, this is subject to Network Rail first deciding upon and implementing reasonably practicable level crossing safety measures,” the Office for Rail and Road spokesman added.

“Network Rail will undertake a performance review of the two-hourly service before deciding on a long-term view on GWR’s proposal to run hourly services.”

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Great Western Railways’ spokesman said customers will be “disappointed” that the Office for Rail and Road fell short of agreeing to proposals to fully reinstate services.

“We will continue working closely with Network Rail and industry partners to understand what more can be done to introduce additional services as quickly and safely as possible,” he added.

There are no direct services between Oxford and Swindon. While there are frequent trains, passengers need to change at Didcot Parkway or Reading to travel between the two stations.

That extends what could be a short journey to more than 40 minutes as a minimum.

The approximately 30 mile drive to the Wiltshire town from Oxford takes roughly an hour down the A420 depending on traffic.

Swindon has frequently appeared in the annual ‘top 50 worst places to live in England’ list by satirical website ILiveHere.co.uk, ranking as high as eighth in 2023.

But despite this, studies have shown that a Oxford to Swindon corridor would deliver “substantial” economic, environmental and social benefits.

Susan Brown, Oxford City Council leader (Image: Oxford City Council)

It’s largely believed that by opening up a direct railway link, traffic congestion would be relieved on the A420 from Oxford city centre to Swindon.

Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, previously said: “A direct Oxford to Swindon rail service is very welcome news for Oxford.

“It would connect Oxford to the West and Bristol with a direct, reliable and sustainable public transport option, essential for supporting businesses, attracting investment and giving people better choices for commuting and leisure.”

Nadine Mitschunas from near Wallingford is one of three people whose gardens are in the running for the ‘Best of the best’ edition of the garden of the year awards.

This year’s competition, the 10th, has a unique twist: every contender is a previous finalist, bringing together standout gardens from the last decade of the awards.

Ms Mitschunas was nominated by the magazine’s readers alongside Pam Woodall from Dorset, as well as Jo and Andi Butler from Shropshire.

She was previously the 2021 Judge’s Choice winner.

Nadine Mitschunas from near Wallingford (Image: BBC Gardeners World)

Representing a broad range of gardening styles from across the country, each of the finalist gardens shows creativity, dedication and a passion for plants.

The overall winner will be chosen by a panel of expert judges, to be announced in the October issue of BBC Gardeners’ World.

The panel includes garden designer and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Arit Anderson; garden designer and author, Ann-Marie Powell, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine content director, Kevin Smith, and head gardener at Crocus, Ashley Edwards.

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Mr Smith said: “Reaching the top three is a huge achievement, especially in this special anniversary year.

“These gardens truly represent the very best from the past decade and showcase the creativity, dedication and passion of our readers. Choosing a winner from such an exceptional group won’t be easy.”

Nadine Mitschunas finalist in Gardeners World magazine Gardens of the Year 2021 competition GOTY 190721 19072021 19/07/21 19/07/2021 19 19th July 2021 Summer location Oxfordshire photographer Jason Ingram (Image: Jason Ingram)

BBC Gardeners’ World previously said about Ms Mitschunas’ garden: “This really is a garden for our times, reflecting the care that so many gardeners have poured into creating spaces for wildlife to thrive.

“Our winner has achieved this to a high level of perfection but not forgotten the need to make an atmospheric space to simply live in and enjoy.

“With mostly plants rather than landscaping used to create the space, it’s a thrifty and achievable blueprint for many others to follow.”

Ms Mitschunas works as a pollinator ecologist and started to cultivate her overgrown and unloved plot in 2010.

Last year, the BBC reported that Ms Mitschunas was the UK’s first rice grower.

The crops in her four small paddy fields were able to grow due to the hottest summer on record last year.

She said: “Nobody has tried this before, but with climate change, we have crops that, 10 years ago, we wouldn’t have thought would be viable.

“In 10 years time, rice could be a completely perfect crop for us.”

The experiment was the idea of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

“I’m actually amazed because they are big, happy, bushy plants,” she added.

North and West Oxfordshire politicians penned the letter to transport minister Heidi Alexander, who incidentally was a victim of one of Oxfordshire’s potholes last month.

The detailed proposals ask for a £20bn investment in repairs and reinstatement of roads across the country, and particularly in Oxfordshire.

The councillors have made the case that the recently announced additional funding for tackling potholes is not enough overall and the share that Oxfordshire will receive will not be sufficient.

Councillors have also invited Ms Alexander to visit Oxfordshire to see for herself the state of Oxfordshire’s roads, not just on the B4437 outside Burford which punctured a tyre of her Mini.

Councillor Ian Middleton (Image: Ian Middleton)

Green group county and Cherwell district leader Ian Middleton said: “After years of neglect and underfunding by successive governments, we now need definitive action and proper funding to deal with the state of our roads and footpaths.

“Government financial input to the County budget for road maintenance is simply not at a level that is sustainable in the long term, and the result is a continued deterioration year on year.

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“We are now literally patching the patches, and after another winter of bad weather coupled with an increase in heavier vehicles, our roads are now in a state of total collapse that local authorities are not equipped or funded to deal with.

“We need a financial commitment from central government to facilitate an urgent roads reset.”

Rosie Pearson of the West Oxfordshire Greens (Image: Rosie Pearson)

West Oxfordshire District Council Green group leader Rosie Pearson added: “Many of us have suffered from damage and frustration from the state of our roads, especially after January’s severe weather.

“Nobody thinks this is acceptable. The Green Party approach is to look at the underlying causes of a problem, in order to find a permanent fix.”

North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Liz Reason said the cause of potholes needs to be tackled in a “systemic” way.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander (Image: Yui Mok/PA)

And North and West Oxfordshire Green Party co-chair Barry Wheatley added: “Years of patch-and-pray repairs have left our roads crumbling – damaging vehicles and putting pedestrians, cyclists and drivers at risk.

“It’s time for government and Oxfordshire to stop papering over the cracks and invest in roads built to last.”

Oxfordshire County Council has started repairs of 87 roads as part of its £8m improvement programme.

The now former transport chief Andrew Gant said in March: “Reactive pothole repairs are expensive and inefficient.

“Preventative maintenance, such as surface dressing, is far better value and stops potholes forming in the first place.”