MORE spacious trains are to be provided in a £29m investment to ease overcrowding for Oxford-based commuters, it was confirmed yesterday.

Train operator First Great Western and the Department for Transport is investing in new carriages for the fleet serving London and the Thames Valley.

The extra capacity will mean an extra 1,200 seats available for customers into and out of London across morning and evening peaks.

Across the company network, 46 additional carriages are being provided to create a total of 4,500 additional seats.

This is an overall increase of about nine per cent. The changes will be introduced across the network between February and September.

In the past year, First Great Western services have been criticised as the most overcrowded into London.

First Great Western managing director Mark Hopwood said: “We’ve seen an ever-increasing demand for travel on our services.

“We’ve been working closely with the Department for Transport for some time to find a way to deliver that extra capacity for customers, and I’m delighted we’ve been able to reach this deal.”

Passenger Focus spokesman Anthony Smith said: “Our research tells us, and passenger experience shows, crowding is becoming an ever greater issue. Investment like this is welcome to help short-term pressures, but as well as the investment programme we want to see more deals like these from train companies, government and councils.”

Five Class 180 Adelante trains have been leased and will replace most of the Turbo services on the Cotswold Line between Worcester and Paddington. The Turbos will be relocated to other areas of London and the Thames Valley.

Two three-car Class 150 trains — six carriages — will also be leased and revamped to boost weekday commuter services between Reading and Basingstoke