A RAILWAY station relief car park opened just 18 months ago is already full, users have warned.

Andrew Wilkins, of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group (CLPG), said that the 191-space car park extension at Hanborough station was being used beyond capacity on most weekdays.

A count carried out on Tuesday, November 25, found there were 204 vehicles parked in the extension, some in unmarked areas.

Oxfordshire County Council has been encouraging commuters to travel by train to relieve jams on roads between Oxford and Witney.

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But Mr Wilkins said “drastic investment” was needed at the station, off the A4095 in Long Hanborough.

He said: “The traffic on the A40 is getting worse and is going to keep getting worse if all the houses currently planned for West Oxfordshire are built.

“It cannot all go on the A4095, because it is already very congested, especially in peak hours.

“It is just a rat-run to Oxford and the M40 now and it cannot cope with more traffic.

“The CLPG would like to see more people use Hanborough station, but do not yet know how it is proposed to get them there.”

He added: “Without drastic investment in infrastructure in West Oxfordshire, I am not all that hopeful.”

The original 50-space car park at Hanborough was extended by 190 spaces in July last year at a cost of £400,000.

With it came the introduction of parking fees, enforcable with £25 fines.

County council leader Ian Hudspeth, who regularly uses the station, has previously urged residents travelling into Oxford to do the same.

In an email response to Mr Wilkins, he said the car park had been “successful from day one” and that his authority would support further expansion.

But work would require development nearby to secure funding contributions from builders, he said.

On Friday, a spokesman for First Great Western, which runs the Cotwold Line through Hanborough, said the company was “actively progressing plans for the potential car park expansion at Hanborough” but was unable to provide further details.

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