On Feb 3, 12:01*pm, Bruce wrote:
"Paul Scott" wrote:
"Mortimer" wrote in message
When the Bicester curve opens, how will the journey time from Oxford to
Marylebone compare with that from Oxford to Paddington via Didcot? How do
the distances compare, too?

The Chiltern route is expected to be 1h 6m, *vs about 58/59m from Oxford to
Paddington. *Haven't got the distances.

Trains from Oxford to Paddington are only 58/59 minutes in the daytime
weekdays; evening and weekend services are markedly slower [not
relevant to Mon-Fri commuters, but significant to Oxonians who want to
visit London at the weekend]. Sunday "fasts" take 68/69 minutes, only
run hourly, and the first up train is scheduled to leave Oxford at
0950, arriving Paddington at 1058. Engineering works often mean you
don't get to London before lunchtime.

Chiltern won't be able to run long trains from Oxford -- I think their
platform will be 5 cars max -- but they will get a fair load of
commuters from the Park'n'ride on weekdays, and have potential to get
a lot of weekend leisure passngers who have long been disenchanted
with FGW's poor schedules and ageing turbos.