A direct train service between cities has been restored after 21 years.

Great Western Railway (GWR) will operate two return Saturday services between Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford from today, including stops at Bath Spa, Chippenham and Swindon.

Richard Stow, chairman of Thames Valley branch of national campaigning group Railfuture, welcomed the news and said it would “boost the case” for a new Wantage & Grove station.

Louise Upton, cabinet member for planning at Oxford City Council, called the service “a game changer for the region”.

The rail company said it started the trial in response to growth in demand.

The services from Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads on Saturdays will run at 1203 and 1712.

The times for the direct trains between Bristol Temple Meads and Oxford are 1018 and 1518.

GWR said that the quickest direct journey times between the two cities started from one hour 11 minutes.

“Changing customer patterns since Covid have provided a clear opportunity for us to expand our leisure offering and the Bristol-Oxford route is one which offers real potential,” said company managing director Mark Hopwood.

Ms Upton added that the project helped alleviate traffic congestion and opened up “new opportunities for business”.

“With trains stopping at Swindon, the new services offer better connections between the larger cities and the town too,” she said.

Leader of Swindon Borough Council Jim Robbins said the new temporary service would further improve the “excellent rail links to Bath and Bristol”

Mr Robbins added that he hoped it lead to “permanent and more frequent services”.

MPs and campaigners have been calling for the move since it was withdrawn in 2003.

Mr Stow said that Railfuture, which campaigns for “a bigger better railway”, was “absolutely delighted” at the news.

He said that the “real benefit” was going to be for passengers, particularly those making leisure journeys between Oxford and Bristol, as well as “a great boost for tourism”.

“In the longer term, one of the core benefits of this enhancement is it will […] boost the case for a new station in Oxfordshire at Wantage & Grove parkway,” he said.

The Department for Transport considered proposals for a new Wantage & Grove Parkway Station in 2022 but said had no plans to reopen it.

“We really take our hats off to GWR and their determination to try and offer a really good service between Oxford and Bristol,” Mr Stow said.

“Let’s hope it’s a success and we want a train every hour from Oxford to Bristol.”

Let’s be clear: this is only two trains a day, one day a week.

For a three-month trial. No promise of a permanent connection.

If they’re making a day trip, it offers passengers only a handful of hours in the cities at either end.

This is a toe in the water to establish how much demand there is to restore a rail link between Bristol and Oxford that was severed 21 years ago.

It also restores a connection between Swindon and Oxford to compete with cars on the busy A420 road.

Since Covid, rail passenger demand has changed dramatically.

This route is about leisure travel, not commuting or business.

And Saturday is now one of the busiest days of the week on the railway.

A clear signal of changing times.