Oxford to Bicester Line

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Oxford to Bicester Line
Legend Varsity Line towards Bletchley Bicester A41 Depot at Upper Arncott Wendlebury M40 Charlton Oddington Islip Oxford Road Wolvercote Wolvercote Roundabout tunnel Oxford Canal Cherwell Valley Line towards Banbury Port Meadow Oxford General Oxford Rewley Road (up to 1951) Cherwell Valley Line towards Didcot Parkway

The Oxford to Bicester Line is a short branch line linking Oxford and Bicester in Oxfordshire, England. The line continues beyond Bicester to Bletchley, but this section of track has been out of use for many years, although part of it is currently in use as a freight line. The line forms part of the proposed restoration of the Varsity Line, an East-West line linking Oxford to Cambridge.

The route serves the following places:

• Oxford previously Oxford Rewley Road
• Former station at Port Meadow
• Former station at Wolvercote
• Former station at Oxford Road
• Islip
• Former station at Oddington
• Former station at Charlton
• Former station at Wendlebury
• Bicester (London Road)

Passenger service by First Great Western consists of a modest seven services each way a day, with no Sunday service. An enhanced service, including Sunday services, has run for the past two years in the run up to Christmas, mainly for the Bicester Village Shopping Centre adjacent to Bicester station. Speeds on the line are normally limited to between 30mph and 40mph, owing to the condition of the track and bridges.

An enhanced service also operated on the weekend of 12th and 13th May 2007 to celebrate twenty years since the section of line re-opened.

To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Oxford to Bicester line, the line is set to have an official name soon, which will be named by the general public.

In March 2008, plans to upgrade the line to 100mph running, and extend it through to Bedford were given a boost. A £2 million engineering study into the state of the line was started, and works on the track (expected to be around the £190 million mark) may start as early as 2009. ^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Mk Rail Link Plan On Track (from The Oxford Times)

[edit] External links

• East West Rail Link proposal
• East West Rail Link support group
• East West Rail petition
• Oxford-Bicester rail action group

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