NEW trains for places such as Wantage and Yarnton are to be requested for the county’s railway lines by Oxfordshire County Council.

A motion proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor Bob Johnston was backed unanimously by members of the council.

It also called for the council to examine the possibility of asking train operators to reopen stations in areas such as Wantage and Yarnton.

Mr Johnston said: “We must get the right rolling stock for the railway in Oxfordshire.

“Some of the trains are not fit for this part of the 21st century.”

Green Party councillor David Williams said if the motion was passed it would keep the pressure on railway companies to upgrade the network.

He said: “We need to keep the pressure on at all times.

“We are supporting the motion as part of ongoing pressure on the Government for investment in rail infrastructure.

"Reopening stations in parts of the county like Wantage, Grove and Yarnton would reverse the effects of the Beeching cuts.”

Those cuts saw the railway network dramatically reduced and restructured in the 1960s.

And Labour councillor Nick Hards pointed out that pressure must be put on Network Rail, which maintains the track.

He said: “The Department for Transport on its own cannot actually do what we want because the railway line is run by a private operator.”