How are commuters from Bristol, Bath, Chippenham and Swindon faring?   After their direct service was withdrawn in 2003 they've struggled with awkward calling patterns and poorly timed connections at Didcot.  Chippenham to Oxford - 5 years ago, direct every hour.  Now - as often as not - change at Swindon AND Didicot.

See this blog if you want to know ...
http://commutertrain.blogspot.com/

I was told that the direct service was withdrawn because it was making the lines too busy in the Bristol area.  It was also pointed out to me that once First took over Thames Trains, they were to some extent competing against themselves and that they wouldn't loose the captive business they already had if they made the service more profitable (by reducing the trains) but far less convenient for their customers.