Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the Great Western Railway trial on the service from Bristol to Oxford is limited to weekends and leisure travel, and not commuter traffic.

Great Western Railway has proposed to the Department for Transport a limited trial of extra direct services between Bristol and Oxford. The proposed trial is planned to take place between mid-September and mid-December 2024 and will be restricted to Saturdays. This coincides with the Bath Christmas market, which experiences increased demand for trips on Saturdays to and from Oxford and Bath, particularly during the busy Christmas season. The trial is only currently planned for weekends because during the week, the additional trains needed to run the services are already used on other commuter routes.