RAIL bosses have reversed their decision to shut the back gate at Oxford Station after an outcry from passengers.

The Oxford Mail revealed this month that First Great Western chiefs were planning to close the entrance to stop fare dodgers.

The platform two gate, which leads out to Roger Dudman Way towards the Botley side of Oxford, is open at peak times. But plans to shut it on January 1 only became known when signs went up at the station earlier this month.

First Great Western staff estimated up to one in five passengers using the gate hadn’t paid their fare because it does not have a ticket barrier.

Commuters protested that the closure would cause even worse crowding in peak hours and bikes would have to be carried over the footbridge.

A campaign was sparked with dozens of people complaining to the station and Oxford city councillor for Jericho and Osney Ward, Susanna Pressel.

But on Wednesday, station manager Dave Martin met Cllr Pressel and regular commuter Dom Utton.

She said: “I was all ready to be very angry. But he said straight away that they have changed their minds.

“Our statement of protest and demand for a meeting put the wind up them so much that they said they are going to try to get money for two new barriers, one wider for bikes.

“I’d like to thank the Oxford Mail for publicising this dreadful idea and helping to get a campaign going which demonstrates the people power of the community.

“I think they were frightened of me. I can be quite frightening when I am really cross. I am not going to beat around the bush for something the people I represent want.”

Mr Utton, who commutes to London up to four days a week from Osney Island, said he wrote to First Great Western to complain about the plans.

The 40-year-old journalist, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said: “I think a lot of people wrote in. They hadn’t consulted anyone.

“My issue was, who are they running the station for?

“As soon as we kicked off about it, they saw sense. I go out the back way which is a lot easier. It wasn’t just commuters though. It is a drag for cyclists to haul their bike over the bridge and difficult for the elderly. The lift is just rubbish. I went along to the meeting with a whole list of questions but didn’t need them. Fair play to them though for listening.”

Spokesman for First Great Western, James Davis, refused to say how many complaints had been received, but he said: “We’ve decided, in the light of customer and stakeholder feedback, and the emergence of a number of potential alternative approaches, to defer closure of the Oxford platform two gate until further notice.

“In the meantime, we will be reviewing the usage of the gate and its interaction with the wider station environment. This will help inform the decisions we’re making about access to this entrance in future.

“We will also be discussing the future access to the gate with the Department for Transport in the context of potential wider plans for the station.”