Sir - Thank you for giving coverage to Susan Westlake's excellent campaign to restore a decent Oxford-Paddington rail service. It is very important that as many commuters as possible as well as our local politicans get involved in this campaign rather than leave it to an energetic minority. People commute to London because that is where the job opportunities reside; if they are hindered from doing so, ultimately that will be to the detriment of the Oxford economy because people will not want to move here in the future when they see the state of the train service.

I believe that First Great Western is trying to relegate Oxford almost to branch-line status in order to reduce the number of trains flowing through Reading to Paddington. If they are going to fall back on the argument that their new timetable meets the terms of their franchise, then the Department for Transport is not asking enough of them.

I witnessed last week one tangible effect of the resultant over-crowding caused by this new timetable. On arriving at Paddington a heavily pregnant woman collapsed next to me, hyperventilating in the airless carriage and literally incapable of stepping off the train. She told me she had been standing since Reading because she had been too embarrassed to ask her harassed fellow commuters for a seat. Does First Great Western believe this was an acceptable way for her to start her working day?

Edward Knighton, Oxford