THE co-operative behind plans to operate a train service between Wiltshire and Birmingham, via Oxford and Banbury, has changed the abbreviated form of its name after being threatened with legal action by insurance price comparison website Go Compare.

The Go Co-operative used the Go-Co brand to promote its Rail plans and a car club in Swindon, but lawyers for Go Compare claimed that the Go-Co logo could be confused with the insurance website. As a result the co-operative will now brand its services as Go-op.

A spokesman said: “We consider that the resources we have should be directed at getting our first rail service running, not fighting legal battles, so we reluctantly agreed.”

Go-op, which has raised £400,000 to pay for development of its plans, is in talks with Network Rail about a 10-year track access agreement to operate eight trains a day each way, at two-hourly intervals, linking Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham, Chippenham, Swindon, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Solihull and Birmingham.

Extra trains would run in the rush-hours and on Fridays, while the co-op also wants to serve the South Coast resort of Weymouth on summer weekends, running via Yeovil and Dorchester.

The first trains are planned to start running in spring 2014. For more information see go-op.coop or call 0300 456 2265.