Rail passengers will know by the end of this year whether a plan to revive direct train services between Oxford and Swindon will go ahead.

The Go! Co-operative wants to start a service which would link Banbury and Oxford to Swindon, Chippenham, Westbury and Yeovil, with the possibility of extensions to Weymouth and Birmingham.

The service would link Oxford directly with Swindon for the first time in eight years and cut journey times from about 36 minutes now, including a change of trains at Didcot, to about 30 minutes.

On Sundays it would reduce journeys by up to 35 minutes, as passengers currently face a 40-minute wait at Didcot for some connections.

At a meeting held at Oxford’s Friends’ Meeting House, in St Giles, yesterday – one of a series held along the route – the plans received a warm welcome from potential investors, who were able to question the people behind the project.

Jean Nunn-Price, a member of the Wantage Area Climate Action, believes the service could add weight to her group’s campaign to reopen the former Wantage Road station, just north of Grove.

She said: “It’s a great idea and I think it has a strong chance of success. The Mid-counties Co-op has already invested some money and I would be very keen to support it personally.”

However, Go! director Chris Phillimore said that serving any new station at Grove was not part of their plans at present.

He said: “I can’t see how it would work at the moment. The business model is looking primarily at the Swindon to Oxford direct service and we don’t want to damage that product.”

Other people at the meeting were enthusiastic about the plan.

Chris Brennan, 61, from Kidlington, said he would use the service and was tempted to invest.

He added: “The trouble with changing at Didcot is that you can end up there for up to 40 minutes. I think the route’s got a good chance of being successful.”

Simon Hunt, a committee member of city cycling pressure group Cyclox, who lives in Headington, said: “The idea has got a lot going for it. I was impressed by the quality of people the people that addressed the meeting and I might put some money into it.”

Sheila Allen, 65, from North Oxford, has already invested in the co-operative which built a windfarm in Watchfield, near Faringdon.

She said: “I think it’s a very exciting prospect. They put a good case across.”

The co-op will apply to run the service under the Office for Rail Regulation’s open access scheme, which allows organisations to run routes not served by the main rail franchise operators.

The co-operative needs to raise about £500,000 to launch the service in December next year and is looking for small investors willing to put up £100 for 100 shares. So far, £50,000 has been raised.

Directors said they aimed to break even within three years, with the prospect of dividend payments from profits in the future.

Chief executive Keith Vingoe said a decision on whether the firm would be granted a licence would be made by the ORR by November.

He said: “The turnout on Wednesday was great and the reaction we got was very positive.

“We wouldn’t have come this far if we didn’t think the route was viable and we couldn’t raise the finance to do it.”