First Great Western starts work this month on a major refurbishment of Oxford station. When the project is complete in December, customers using First Great Western services can look forward to a new ticket office with a special low-level counter and a new Help Desk on the concourse.

In addition, there will completely new concourse toilet facilities and new seating and tables in the coffee shop. Platform 2 is to receive a new waiting room plus Help Desk and new toilets.

To complete the facelift, there will be painting and general maintenance throughout the station.

Costing around  £400,000, the Oxford refurbishment is part of First Great Western's £200 million investment in trains, stations and customer service. The work is a major step in the upgrade of facilities at Oxford. Already this year, there has been deep cleaning of the station, improvements to bicycle parking and new flower displays installed.

"When all the work is finished, it will make a huge difference to our customers' overall journey experience," says Richard Rowland, First Great Western's Regional Manager for London and the Thames Valley. The service we provide connecting the Cotswolds through Oxford to the Thames Valley and London is extremely important to us, and we hope customers will view this work as a further indication of our continuing commitment to rail travel."

Station Manager Thames Valley Geoff Capes and his staff will be aiming to ensure that Oxford services are not interrupted by the work. "We will try hard to minimise any inconvenience to our customers," says Geoff, "and we hope they will help us with their patience while looking forward to the new facilities."