Campaigning: Oxford commuters Zahra Akkerhuys, Rosamund Snow and Steve Barton
RAIL passengers commuting to London are stepping up their campaign against First Great Western's axeing of two busy express services.
They say timetable changes have led to nightmare journeys which make them fell like "cattle".
From Monday, First Great Western withdrew the 6.45am and 7.25am trains from Oxford to Paddington.
Zahra Akkerhuys, 34, a press officer for Transport for London, said the changes were causing major problems.
Mrs Akkerhuys, who lives off Abingdon Road, Oxford, said: "Previously, several fast trains started in Oxford, but now commuters must cram on to trains from Hereford or Moreton-in-Marsh.
"These trains are more than half-full when they arrive, so commuters boarding at Oxford and Didcot struggle to get a seat - many have to stand all the way to London.
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"Unless commuters catch the 7.05 train, it's not possible to get to work in London until 9am. The 7.44 gets in too late. Commuters are paying £3,500 a year to use this service. Commuting each day to London is tough, and turning the station platform into a battleground is going to make each day a nightmare.
"The situation for passengers travelling from Didcot is even worse. This could lead to some people moving out of Oxfordshire."
Mrs Akkerhuys said passengers wanted the 6.45 and 7.25 services to be reinstated, and called for an immediate review of the timetable changes affecting Oxford.
Rosamund Snow, 35, from Marston, added: "The 7.05 this morning was 17 minutes late, so you get up early for nothing and still have to fight for a seat."
Steve Barton, 50, from Marston, who works for the Royal Society of Arts, said: "The 7.25 was never late and we want it back. Getting the coach isn't an option, because it takes too long."
Earlier this month, commuter Susan Westlake began a petition against the axeing of the 7.25am service, which was also the only fast train from Radley to London.
Ms Westlake, 23, from West Oxford, is now liaising with Mrs Akkerhuys, a former The Oxford Times journalist, to persuade FGW to conduct a review of the timetable.
Ms Westlake, who works for English Heritage, has collected hundreds of signatures on trains and online and has handed them to the rail firm. She said the 7.05 was "so packed on Monday that people could not get on at Didcot and Reading - they had trouble shutting the doors, because so many people were trying to get on the train".
To sign the petition, go to www.petitionthem.com
and search for 7.25 Oxford train'.
Richard Rowland, Thames Valley regional manager for FGW, said that a limited review would be carried out in the new year but it would be difficult to bring in major changes.
Mike Greedy, of the watchdog body Passenger Focus, said: "We're monitoring what's going on on a daily basis and feeding our observations back to Great Western.
"My priority at the moment is stations such as Didcot, where passengers are having difficulty even getting on to packed trains."
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