For several years now – even before my election to Parliament – I have been working with campaigners in Corsham to get the station in the town re-opened.

Corsham station was closed after the Beeching Report in the 1960s, but demand for rail services to the town has been growing rapidly in recent years. There are exciting plans for a digital hub and higher education facility, which would bring hundreds of jobs and millions of pounds of investment to the town. Bath Spa University, which has a major interest in these plans, has made clear that re-opening the station is crucial if it is to expand its presence in Corsham.

It is a naïve hope that the station could be opened without a train service that would actually stop at it. That’s why I’m calling for a new direct service from Oxford to Bristol which could do just that, and would better connect Corsham, Chippenham and Swindon with the region’s important cities.

I have worked cross-party to enlist the support of the nine other MPs who represent constituencies along the route to maximise our chance of success.

Together, we wrote to the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, urging him to include these plans in the next Great Western rail franchise.

I have also secured the backing of local business groups, including the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Business West. Their members include both local employers and universities, who see the benefit an Oxford to Bristol service would bring.

I highlighted their support for my campaign to the Transport Secretary in the House of Commons last Thursday, and asked for a meeting with him to discuss how we can make this new service happen. He agreed, which assures me that I can take this campaign to the very top at the Department for Transport.

In the meantime, I will continue to work with businesses and organisations in our area to build more support for our plans, and to make the wider economic benefits clear.

If you’d like to support my campaign for a new Oxford to Bristol rail service and a re-opened Corsham station, please visit http://www.

duncanhames.org.uk/oxford_to_bristol_rail_service to add your voice and complete my short rail survey.

My next constituency surgery will be at my office in Avonbridge House, Chippenham tomorrow (Friday), from 10am–11.30am.