Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on the potential opening of public direct travel between Swindon and Oxford using the current freight track.

In September, Great Western Railway began a trial of direct services between Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Oxford. This trial is on Saturdays only with two direct services in each direction. It will run until May 2025, to understand levels of passenger demand for this service.

No decisions have yet been made on whether this service will continue beyond then and any expansion of the service would require additional rolling stock which is currently unidentified and unfunded.