RAIL passengers from Banbury could soon be able to use train operator Wrexham & Shropshire’s express trains to travel to and from London.

W&S and Chiltern Railways are seeking permission to integrate their services between London, north Oxfordshire and the West Midlands from December, to cut costs due to the recession.

However, Chiltern said that its £200m plan for a new service between Oxford and London, via Bicester, remained on track.

W&S revealed last week it would be improving its timetable next month and was about to put its first refurbished train into service.

Long delays to overhauls of its trains have meant W&S has had to hire coaches since its launch last year, while Chiltern says passenger numbers have been hit by the recession.

They have applied to the Office for Rail Regulation to lift restrictions on stops by W&S services at Banbury, so passengers can catch either firm’s trains between the town and the capital.

At present, they can only use W&S trains to travel to Shropshire and north-east Wales or to make journeys from those areas to Banbury, due to competition rules.

W&S told the ORR the proposed shake-up “reduces costs on Chiltern Railways, since certain Chiltern services which duplicate the route taken by Wrexham & Shropshire services can be removed”.

W&S also wants to use Chiltern’s Clubman trains on some of its services.

Cherwell Rail Users’ Group chairman Chris Bates said: “I have a couple of concerns, firstly the request to use Clubman trains on W&S services, and also the suggestion that W&S can cover some of the station stops Chiltern is required to make by its franchise agreement.

“Chiltern’s fleet barely caters for the number of people using its services and it can ill afford to lose a single Clubman to other routes.”

Chiltern is also planning to reduce its service between London, Oxfordshire and Stratford-upon-Avon from December, because of low demand.

But it told the ORR it was close to submitting a formal application for the Oxford-London project.

Chiltern and W&S already have close ties – Chiltern’s owner DB Regio UK has a 50 per cent stake in W&S.

DB Regio chairman Adrian Shooter said: “We’re delighted to be taking the Wrexham & Shropshire brand forward within Chiltern Railways.”