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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