LONG-SUFFERING rail commuters across Evesham and Pershore have been handed an early Christmas gift with the introduction of extra services to the capital.
Rail commuters have long complained of the services between the county and London and their pleas have been answered with additional services from Sunday, December 12.
Extra weekday trains for Pershore and Honeybourne stations and additional Sunday services between Malvern, Worcester, Oxford and London feature in Great Western’s new timetable.
Pershore gains two extra trains with calls in the existing 1.18pm Worcester Shrub Hill to London Paddington and the 11.50am London Paddington to Hereford trains plugging a two-hour lunchtime gap and now offering users an hourly service in both directions virtually throughout the day with existing additional peak afternoon services.
Pershore will also be served by the 11.50am from London on Saturdays which means that all weekend trains now serve Pershore, Honeybourne and Worcestershire Parkway stations.
Honeybourne gains a new weekday service with the 7.50am Paddington to Great Malvern train calling at 9.29am and Worcestershire Parkway users gain a new call in the fast 3.18pm Worcester Foregate Street to London service.
An earlier start up to westbound Sunday morning services on the North Cotswold Line sees the introduction of a new 9am Oxford to Worcester and Great Malvern service with an additional through service from Great Malvern to London Paddington at 10.50am plugging an existing two-hour gap in the timetable and upgrading services to/from Worcester to hourly throughout the day.
Earlier, later and additional Sunday trains between Worcester and Bristol also feature in the new December timetable with a new hour earlier service from Worcester Shrub Hill at 9.57am and a two hourly service in both directions throughout the day with most trains operating to and from Foregate Street and an hour later last train from Worcester at 9.57pm.
Campaigners from the Cotswold Line Promotion Group have welcomed the changes which will come into effect just before Christmas.
“We have been working with train operators Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains to improve early morning connections at Worcester’s Shrub Hill Station into services between the Cotswold ,Hereford and Birmingham routes and into West of England services,” a spokesman said.
