The former station for Bletchingdon was always spelt "Bletchington", which is an alternative spelling for that village's toponym.

CrossCountry call only at Oxford and Banbury on their services south to Southampton and north to Birmingham New Street and beyond, while Great Western Railway operate both local and express services on the line, with express services typically continuing onto the Cotswold Line towards Worcester Foregate Street and Hereford, or the Great Western main line towards London Paddington.

The line carries a large and increasing volume of freight between the Port of Southampton and the Midlands, much of it container trains operated by Freightliner.

[3] The line makes three crossings of the River Thames between Oxford and Didcot: In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000.

Under plans for the Great Western Electrification project announced in July 2009, the Cherwell Valley line was due to be electrified from Didcot as far as Oxford.