IMPROVEMENTS to late afternoon services on the Cotswold Line, including an extra through train from London to Worcester and Malvern, have been welcomed by the 1,700 strong Cotswold Line Promotion Group.

The existing 4.22pm Paddington to Oxford train will be extended to Malvern when the new timetable starts on Saturday, December 12, meaning there will be an hourly service from London to Worcester virtually throughout the day.

The present 3.52pm Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service will terminate at Moreton-in-Marsh, but will be replaced by a new 3.22pm Paddington to Great Malvern train.

And the current 6.49pm service from Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington will now start at Great Malvern at 6.36pm.

Users of the station at Honeybourne, near Evesham, will get an extra early-morning service on weekdays. The first train of the day from Oxford to Worcester will now stop at the village's station at 5.53am - a move long urged by the Cotswold Line Protection Group, partly in view of important Birmingham and Bristol connections available at Worcester.

"We welcome these moves to improve services and provide much needed increased capacity for passengers returning from London in the busy late afternoon period," said the group's publicity officer Julian Palfrey.

"The group is now pressing for improvements in off-peak morning services between London and Worcester which would see an extra train to Worcester, a more regular service, extra stops at Pershore and Honeybourne and improved connections at Worcester, as well as some improvements in journey times."