Rail passengers fighting for better services on the Cotswold line will have their petition presented to Parliament.

Witney MP David Cameron is supporting the campaign to improve the route between Oxford and Hereford, including the reinstatement of double tracks on a section through west Oxfordshire.

The MP received a petition at Charlbury station from members of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group, last Friday.

He said: "I have already raised this issue once in the House of Commons and I will now present this petition to Parliament to try to spark another debate.

"I'm hopeful that we will get somewhere because there seems to be a lot of support for it."

Backing for an upgrade of the line was received in the form of a recent study carried out by the Cotswold and Malverns Transport Partnership -- composed of councils, the rail industry and passenger groups.

The line escaped closure in the 1960s, but was subsequently downgraded to single track.

Despite overcrowding on some peak-hour trains, the single track sections impose severe restraints on efforts to increase the frequency of trains.

Any plan to reinstate double track on the whole route to Hereford and modernise the signalling would cost up to £250m. A more modest scheme costing about £50m has attracted the support of train companies.

Phase One would involve reinstating the second track through west Oxfordshire, including Charlbury, as far as Ascott-under-Wychwood where there is a double-track section to Kingham and Moreton-in-Marsh

Brian Hodgson, leader of Oxfordshire County Council's Labour group, has supported the petition.

Mr Hodgson, who lives in Stonesfield, said: "Initially the work would cost up to £15m to make sure that we get an hourly service on the line here.

"It's important that the authorities know that there's tremendous popular support for rail travel in this part of the world."