Direct trains from Bristol to Oxford will start running again later this month as part of an ongoing trial.

Services will run twice on Saturdays in each direction until May next year, connecting the two cities without having to change trains at Didcot Parkway or Reading.

The trial previously ran from September last year to May this year, and was popular with passengers according to Great Western Railway. Trains also stop at Bath, Chippenham and Swindon. After taking a break for the summer, the trial will start again on September 20.

placeholder image — Bristol Temple Meads station | LDR

Catching the train from Bristol to Oxford takes an hour and 10 minutes, shaving off about 10 minutes from going via Didcot or Reading, as well as an inconvenient schlep from one train to another. This inconvenience can be compounded when trains are cancelled or delayed, with much longer waits and the potential for missed connections.

A GWR spokesman said: “We were delighted with the response to our trial of direct Saturday services between Bristol and Oxford, which ran from September 2024 to May 2025. The service proved popular, and we’re pleased to confirm it will return from Saturday, September 20 and run through until May 2026.

“While we don’t share commercial data, the services were well used, and the findings have been provided to the Department for Transport. This evidence will help shape future timetable planning, including the potential for the service to become a permanent feature.”

The first direct service departs Temple Meads at 10.18am and the second at 3.18pm. Return tickets cost £33.60 and can already be booked on GWR’s website. Bristol Green councillors are supporting the introduction of direct services from Bristol to Oxford, with an open letter to GWR. They said the services would help Bristolians to make “sustainable” journeys.

In the letter, Green Councillor Toby Wells said: “These services will offer improved connectivity to and from our city, enabling and incentivising more of our residents to make sustainable long-distance journeys by tipping the balance in their travel decision making processes.

“They will help to drive economic benefits in both cities by linking together businesses small and large with each other and academic institutions, such as the new campus of the University of Bristol opening right next to Temple Meads station.”

The trial service will help connect passengers with cities further east too. A huge project is rebuilding a line linking Oxford and Cambridge, via Milton Keynes. Currently passengers in Bristol have to travel via the congested routes to Birmingham or London to get there.

Cllr Wells added: “The imminent opening of the next phase of East West Rail will further increase the benefit of these services, with journeys via Oxford to Milton Keynes and Bletchley saving time and complexity versus doing the same journey via London or Birmingham. If possible, we would support through services from Bristol to East West Rail destinations.

“These extra connections will relieve pressure on the overcrowded Bristol to Birmingham corridor. We look forward to hearing more about the future plans for these services and will be promoting the new journey options with our communities.”