FEW people look back at the railway cuts of the 1960s with much pride.

But if almost everyone now thinks they went too far and too deep, attempts to improve the network ever since have been notoriously hard to deliver.

Proper transport links are vital for economic growth.

That is why a combination of Rail projects, both privately and publicly funded, are exciting for Oxfordshire.

Electrification and resignalling will update what we already have; East-West Rail and Evergreen 3 will expand the network and open up new routes for passengers.

All of that means the time is right for a major re-examination of Oxford station. A bottleneck here is simply unacceptable.

Trains already carry 41 per cent more passengers in Oxfordshire than seven years ago, and that growth shows no sign of slowing.

County Hall must come up with the right masterplan for the station – one which not only improves the situation now, but guarantees the capacity for the projected huge long term growth in rail traffic.

It is up to the council to prove the case, and for all of us to demand it of the rail industry and the Government.