This summer for the first time since the rail closures of many decades ago, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway will be linked to the Cotswold Line to provide a marvellous day out for families and enthusiasts alike.

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group is working with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway to make this link happen. On the 5 Saturdays in August, there will be a special trial bus link between Evesham Station and Toddington Station calling at Broadway en route.

Bus times are arranged to link with First Great Western services from London and Hereford and Worcester and the weekend services of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.

Buses will leave Evesham Station at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00 and from Toddington Station at 11:00, 13:05, 15:00 and 17:00.  The journey time is approximately 25 minutes. The return fare for this bus service is £5 adult, £4 seniors and £2.50 children, and all users of this link will receive a £1 reduction on GWR fares on that date.

What a pity we can't recreate the rail link between Honeybourne and Toddington - maybe that will happen some time in the future.  However this is a great first step and the Cotswold Line Promotion Group is to be congratulated in coming up with this innovative idea. Who knows - this may be the start of something big!

The Cotswold Line Promotion Group is an entirely voluntary group formed with the aim of safeguarding and promoting improvements to rail and bus feeder services along the Oxford to Worcester line, details are on their website http://www.clpg.co.uk/ .

And for more information on this special event, why not look at the First Great Western website http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ and click on the "Travelling with us" link.

Whilst every effort will be made to ensure the smooth running of this link, we have to say that neither the CLPG nor the GWSR can be held responsible for any late running caused by circumstances beyond our control such as late running trains.