IT IS 46 years tonight that the last regular passenger train ran between Oxford and Bletchley.

On Saturday, December 30 1967, hundreds of rail enthusiasts travelled up and down the track for the final time.

The future of the 116-year-old line at that time looked grim. But now hopes are high that it will soon be revived as part of new electrified East-West rail route.

The line had been under threat for some years before the axe fell at the end of 1967.

British Railways announced in December 1963 that it planned to close not only the Oxford-Bletchley section but the rest of the Varsity line to Cambridge.

Councils and communities along the route combined to fight the closure and succeeded in delaying it, but rail bosses finally got their way.

Business was so brisk on that final day in 1967 that a relief train had to be run to cope with overcrowding on the 5.16pm service from Oxford to Bletchley.

Although takings were up that day, ticket collections were down – many passengers refused to hand their tickets over, preferring to keep them as souvenirs.

After the last train from Oxford had left Bicester at 11.15pm, porter, ticket collector, booking office clerk and stationmaster for the evening Roger Suter, 21, of Brashfield Road, Bicester, put out the platform gas lamps and locked the station gates.

He said: “We’ve had many more travellers than usual. Souvenir hunters have been asking for old LMS labels and most travellers wanted to keep their tickets.”

Signalman John Smallwood, who had worked at the Bicester box for 20 years, said: “It will be strange not to have any more passenger trains on this line.”

A bus service was introduced to replace the trains, but the journey took four hours instead of two.

The line remained open for freight and in 1987, British Rail restored passenger trains to the Oxford-Bicester section, a service now operated by Chiltern Railways.

Chiltern has started work on its ambitious plan to upgrade the Oxford-Bicester route and run fast services to London Marylebone.

Longer term, the Government has approved plans for an electrified Oxford-Bicester-Milton Keynes-Bedford line, on the route abandoned 46 years ago today.

The future is indeed looking bright on the rail front in this part of Oxfordshire.