Sir - Governments are keen to punish local bodies, such as schools, when they fail to measure up to perceived standards. However, privatised industries seem to have been granted an immunity that allows them to reduce services, although putting up prices above inflation. While most commentators will, no doubt, quite rightly grumble that Oxford, under the new timetable, is one of the few places in the country to have a worse peak-time rail service than during off-peak hours, the service level provided by the station is poor almost all the time.

Consider these issues: the main departure board has worked haphazardly for over a year now, and is backed up by an indifferent announcement system that is constantly being overridden by local messages of alterations that confuse passengers; there is a lack of exit gates that causes blockages when trains arrive close together at both platforms; there are no proper fast ticket machines to allow collection of pre-ordered tickets; and booking office routines frequently cause long queues.

Management seems unaware of traffic flows, such as the regular influx of potential students every December. The vagaries of the ticket system mean many of these potential students have to buy one-way tickets, thus creating massive queues. This happens every year, and is but one example of a regular problem that management has failed to address.

If First Great Western cannot provide a decent service at the station, then the station franchise should be taken away from them and put out to tender. They might then be able to concentrate their efforts on ensuring trains run on time. Thames Valley services have some of the worst punctuality records on the network, even though they don't even measure the off-peak services in the statistics.

John Howson, Oxford