Better road and rail connections to Oxford are critical for the future success of Swindon, says council leader David Renard.

And if both come off, it places the town as the gateway to two major economic regions.

The borough council is a member – along with 10 other local authorities – of England’s Economic Heartland.

The strategic transport body has published a plan for the next 30 years in a bid to get government funding for what it says are rail and road services which are “at capacity most of the time” because investment hasn’t kept pace with economic growth in the region.

The plan would see upgrades to transport links from Swindon eastwards as far as Cambridge, including a direct rail line from Oxford to Cambridge.

Coun Renard said: “An improvement in transport links across the arc of the south east would see Swindon as the gateway to that region from the west, and also as the route to opportunities in the west from the east. We’re ideally placed.

“If there is to be an express route from Oxford to Cambridge there has to be a connection to the north of Oxford which would allow direct access from the A40 to Swindon. That would be of benefit to both Swindon and Oxford’s economies, and would allow Oxfordshire to increase its housing if it wanted to.”

The plan wants to see a direct rail link from Oxford to Cambridge restored, and Coun Renard would want to take advantage of that: “We are well connected to Bristol and London, but we’d want direct routes from Swindon and the south of the county up to Oxford. From there, there’d be routes to Birmingham and to the north, or east to Cambridge and beyond.”

The group’s plan doesn't just concern itself with trunk roads and mainlines – it suggests new suburban developments should be linked to main towns by “rapid transport, rail and bus infrastructure.”

Coun Renard laughed when it was suggested that could be a monorail, following recent debate around Dr Laurie Marsh's £750m town centre plan.

He said: “If we do want people to make the choice to leave the car at home, we do have to offer alternatives: buses, maybe a tram or a new station on the main line at the New Eastern Villages.

“It’ll only happen though if we get government funding. That’s why I wanted the council to be part of England’s Economic Heartland – it’s an official strategic transport body, and in the future that’s how these decisions will be made and I want Swindon to benefit from the funding it generates.”