So First Great Western is to look again at the timetable changes, which are causing such chaos.

The question is - why did we get to this farcical situation in the first place?

It was obvious to rush-hour travellers, as soon as the cuts and alterations were announced, what was going to happen.

The packed trains this week have provided ample evidence that the train company got it wrong.

Some of the popular trains from Oxford have been axed.

And those that have survived are now so full when they reach Oxford that it is standing room all the way to Paddington.

No wonder some passengers are complaining that they are being treated worse than cattle.

Just two weeks after the new timetable came in, First Great Western has been forced into wholesale retreat by the weight of public opinion.

It says its staff will be working over the Christmas and New Year holiday to review the timetable.

The bosses who decided on the drastic changes and made such a hash of things should join them.

The company must restore most if not all of the original timetable if it is to win back the goodwill of the paying public.

Otherwise the suspicion will remain that it is interested only in making money, not with the comfort and satisfaction of its customers.