It is good to at last see some action to improve capacity at Oxford rail station. The extra platform is sorely needed and will help Oxford absorb the extra services that are coming our way.

One cannot help feeling, however, that proposed improvements to the station area are being carried out piecemeal. This is not a criticism of the county council. We have no doubt that it, like us, would like to see a comprehensive redevelopment of the whole station area to provide a major new station integrated with other forms of transport to serve us in the decades to come.

The council has promoted just such a solution before.

It is quite evident that the train companies and the Government will not fund that, so we are having to make do with second best.

The county council’s cabinet member for infrastructure, Ian Hudspeth, talks of a masterplan for the whole site that includes improvements to the transport interchange outside the main station area.

It will also include improvements to cater for new services to London via Bicester and High Wycombe. One presumes these improvements will be made at the other end of the station.

We have yet to see the masterplan. The improvements will be very welcome and undoubtedly well-used, but we do fear that Oxford will end up with an elongated station rather than a compact facility where all services are easily within reach.

Perhaps some of the improvements will include airport-style moving walkways.

It would not surprise us if, in 20 years’ time, we are not still facing calls for the completely new integrated transport interchange that we should be building today.