The planned expansion of Oxford railway station is a good thing for the city; make no mistake.

At the moment, it is a cramped, crowded gateway.

Plans to create more space for passengers and trains should be welcomed, but cries of missed opportunity are loud.

The station stands beside one of the city’s biggest bottlenecks – the bridge taking Botley Road under the tracks.

Should Network Rail and the county council have seized the chance to widen the road under the bridge?

It would have eased traffic at a tight pinchpoint once and for all. But there is no money in the pot.

Furthermore, the logistics of carrying out such a project seem almost prohibitive.

And there is no point widening the railway bridge without dealing with narrow sections further along the road.

The question protesters must ask themselves is whether improvements to the station are worth doing without widening the road bridge?

If we wait until money is available to redevelop the whole west end of the city centre, we will be waiting a long, long time.

We say push ahead with the railway station changes anyway. The city needs them.