Campaigners seeking to reopen railway stations at Appleford and Culham on Sundays have called on candidates in the Wantage and Henley constituencies to back the move which is already supported by local parish councils.
The Appleford Rail Group wants Sunday services restored at both stations with a minimum of five trains each way. On week days, campaigners are seeking an additional train in both directions in the evening, northwards between 18:00 – 20:00 for commuters and southwards between 19:00 – 21:00.
The group is also seeking off peak fares on all trains immediately prior to 9:00am to link with first mainline off peak services and a minimum of twelve trains in both directions stopping at Appleford, spread evenly over the day, with no service gap greater than two-and-a-half hours.
Group member Greg O’Broin said: “Sunday services were suspended in 2014, ostensibly as a temporary measure to facilitate electrification work along the Didcot-Oxford main line. Electrification has stalled and now it’s time that services were restored. Appleford does not have a bus service.”
“Oxfordshire is an important economic driver in the region but with ever increasing traffic volumes clogging our roads, together with new housing developments and climate change pressure to reduce CO2 omissions, the role of local railway stations such as Appleford is key to the future of sustainable transport.”
