Passengers arriving at Cheltenham Spa station this week, wanting to go to the races were faced with this vista.

This is the direct result of the folly of closing the former Great Western line from Cheltenham Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon.

It is no longer possible for trains to take people directly from the national rail network to the dedicated racecourse station.

Despite the best efforts of railway staff and the British Transport Police, Cheltenham Spa station cannot readily handle the huge crowds which appear during Festival Week.

One racegoer said: "Lucky it wasn't raining during my visit, or a lot of people would have got very wet and cross while waiting to be allowed on to the narrow platforms for their train home."
 
The line from Cheltenham Spa to the racecourse should be reopened, together with construction of a new platform on the former GWR line at this point.

This would transform Cheltenham Spa station into a V-shape, and provide a bay for terminating trains from London and South Wales.

The Racecourse station is now the southern terminus of the preserved Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway.

Ideally the line could be reopened all the way Honeybourne and Stratford-upon-Avon.