From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cherwell Valley Line is the railway line from Didcot to Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands. The line follows the River Cherwell for much of its route. The local service between Oxford and Banbury has been branded the Oxford Canal Line by First Great Western.
The towns and villages served by the routes are listed below.
[edit] Tilting
With the exception of the West Coast Mainline, this route is the only route that domestic UK trains can tilt on, something that Virgin Cross Country took advantage of on trains from the WCML to Reading and beyond, utilising "Super Voyagers," that can tilt. [1]
However, the new operator, Arriva CrossCountry, does not run much on the WCML, and as it is not worth turning the tilt mechanism on for the short stretch of the Cherwell Valley line, it is not used. Many Supervoyagers have been sent to Virgin West Coast for this reason (they are used for non electrified extensions of the WCML- utilising their tilt ability), and the majority of the service on this line is now given by standard non tilt Voyagers. This is a shame for passengers, because journeys are quicker when trains can go round bends at speed.
The line crosses the River Thames between Oxford and Didcot on the following bridges.
Passenger services are provided by CrossCountry and First Great Western.
|
Railway lines in South-East England: |
|
|
Eastern (Kent)
|
|
| Primary Routes: |
|
|
| Secondary Lines: |
|
|
| Minor/Branch Lines: |
|
|
|
Central (Sussex)
|
|
| Primary Routes: |
|
|
| Secondary Lines: |
|
|
| Minor/Branch Lines: |
|
|
|
Western (Wessex)
|
|
| Primary Routes: |
|
|
| Secondary Lines: |
|
|
| Minor/Branch Lines: |
|
|
|
Northern (Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire)
|
|
| Primary Routes: |
|
|
| Secondary Lines: |
|
|
| Minor/Branch Lines: |
|
|
