HANBOROUGH station’s new car park is overflowing only 18 months after it was opened.
The Cotswold Line Promotion Group says about 204 cars a day now cram into a park with only 191 spaces.
In December, the Office of Rail Regulation published data showing total rail passenger trips to or from Hanborough exceeded 201,000 in 2013–14 and have almost trebled in eight years.
This is the most rapid passenger increase on the ever-busier Cotswold Line, and suggests about 550 passengers a day now use Hanborough. It is effectively becoming Witney’s railhead.
Today’s letters
When the new car park was announced in 2011 I warned that “parking never satisfies demand; it only attracts more cars”, it “would consume a lot of land” and “increase traffic and hence congestion, emissions, health risks and casualties”.
However, in June Stagecoach re-timed bus 233 linking Woodstock, Witney and Burford, creating several connections at Hanborough station.
Some rail passengers from Witney can now avoid driving and competing for a parking space.
The 0610 bus from Witney reaches Hanborough in time for the 0639 train to Paddington. The 0715 bus arrives well before the 0801 train.
The 1732 train from Oxford reaches Hanborough in time for the 1754 bus to Witney and Burford. The 1722 train from Paddington reaches Hanborough in time for the 1849 bus to Witney.
On Saturdays, the 0815 bus from Burford (0840 from Witney) reaches Hanborough in time for the 0915 train to Paddington, which serves cooked breakfasts.
The 1717 train from Paddington reaches Hanborough in time for the 1849 bus to Witney. However, on weekdays not everyone working in London can reach Paddington in time for the 1722 train. If enough passengers use bus 233, Stagecoach could justify adding one further evening trip to meet the 1822 train from Paddington.
Hugh Jaeger Chairman,
Bus Users Oxford
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