Last month, First Great Western provoked fury among commuters when they axed the 6.45am and 7.25am fast trains to London Paddington.

Campaigners collected signatures on a petition and lobbied local MPs, who raised the issue in Parliament.

Last week, FGW backtracked and yesterday revised its services. The 6.45am departure has been speeded up and the company has laid on an extra 7.33am express, replacing the 7.25am train which was axed last month.

Passengers catching the 7.33am from Oxford yesterday welcomed the rethink. David Tucker, 33, a hydrologist from Witney, said: "The Government is encouraging more people to use public transport and when First Great Western changed the timetable it was a big deal for a lot of people.

"I signed the petition and I'm pleased the campaign worked - it shows what can be achieved if people talk to each other."

Lesley Young, 53, from north Oxford, a project director at Kensington and Chelsea College, said: "The timetable changes disrupted everyone's routine, so I'm very pleased that the fast trains have been restored."

Sandra Gee, 48, from Cumnor, who works at Imperial College, in London, added: "I'm absolutely delighted. I used to get the 7.25, so a fast train at 7.33 is near perfect.

"The situation had got so bad that I considered switching jobs, but fortunately I won't have to now. Passenger power has worked."

Zahra Akkerhuys, of passenger group Ox Rail Action, welcomed the reinstatement of the two fast services but added: "I went to the station with a spring in my step, but the 6.45 didn't get into Paddington until two minutes to eight, so it wasn't a particularly fast service. I was hoping it would take about an hour.

"Susan Westlake, who is helping to lead our campaign, was on the 7.33 and told me it was delayed for 10 minutes at Didcot, so it didn't get in until about 8.45.

"From Monday, we will monitor the impact of the latest timetable changes until the middle of February."

The 6.45am from Oxford is due at Paddington at 7.58am, while the 7.33am is due at 8.30am.

FGW spokesman Lance Cole said: "We're pleased that passengers welcome the amended timetable. We're continuing to take feedback from passengers."

He said an electrical fault near Didcot caused minor delays on a number of services.