Oxford rail commuters are suspending their fares strike, due to take place at the city's railway station on Monday.

Ox Rail Action members have decided to cancel their action following the announcement earlier this week by First Great Western to double compensation to passengers who have suffered from an unreliable service during the past 12 months.

Campaigners want to give chief operating officer Andrew Haines "a second chance" after he apologised earlier this week for FGW's disastrous service.

Zahra Akkerhuys, spokesman for Ox Rail Action, said: "We welcome the move to double compensation and the admission that the service has not been up to scratch. We are pleased FGW has acknowledged that they need to change.

"We want to give FGW the benefit of the doubt, but we will not let them off the hook. FGW must improve the punctuality and reliability of its trains.

"FGW has to start putting its passengers before profits and offer a high-quality and good-value service between Oxford and London Paddington. If it doesn't, we will reschedule the strike."

The majority of supporters of OxRail Action are annual season ticket holders, who will benefit from the fare freeze.

In Bath, Bristol, Frome, and other stations in the West Country, the fares strike organised by pressure group More Trains Less Strain will still take place.

Some passengers in the West Country will actually refuse to pay their fares, but Oxford commuters were only planning a symbolic protest.

In a survey by Passenger Focus this week, which looked at passenger satisfaction rates, First Great Western came bottom of the table.