Provided that there are gaps of no longer than 20 minutes in fast services to London (let's define that as "no more than 2 intermediate stops on a train running at well over 100 m.p.h), with the ability for everyone to get their luggage on and have a seat, that's OK by me personally.
Hmmm - I see no/little difference between Swindon & Oxford, who only get 2tph 'fast'. Frankly, a 2tph service (on the same route - so 2tph
BRI» via
BPW» , and 2tph via CPH is good) west of
RDG▸ , is the minimum.
If
SWI» demands 3tph, and I'm not sure it does frankly, the
OXF» ought to get the same (but won't)
Swindon currently has 4 or 5 fast trains per hour to London, and no slower trains. A lot of that is indeed a factor of how they splay out as they get further west. Ongoing from Oxford to major destinations is really the single route that ends up at Hereford, rather than 3 routes from Swindon to such little hamlets as Bristol and Cardiff!
New service will probably see 7 trains - but some passing through none-stop - into London (4 from Bristol via Chippenham -
CPM» [[not CPH, please - Caerphilly is not a big flow from Swindon]] and via Parkway), 2 from South Wales and one from Cheltenham Spa. My suggestion wasn't 3 an hour calling at Swindon - it was a request for a maximum headway of 20 minutes. At a level of 3 an hour, you would be halving express service from Chippenham to Swindon, and from Bristol Parkway to Swindon ... and I suspect that would cause some significant grumbles!
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