A group campaigning for better rail services has welcomed the Oxford to Milton Keynes route operating from next year although extra platform capacity has yet to be built here.

This emerged on Tuesday during a public consultation by East West Rail at Oxford Town Hall, with the consultation moving on to Bicester today (Thursday, November 21). 

An East West spokesperson told Railfuture that two trains an hour in each direction will link the two cities via Bicester from the second half of 2025, using platforms one and two at Oxford that are mainly used at present by Chiltern Trains services to London Marylebone.

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These platforms will then handle four trains an hour, which the spokesperson said was feasible as Chiltern will also be operating the East West service.

(Image: East West Rail) “This is good news, as there had been fears that without the extra capacity at Oxford station, East West would be restricted to one train per hour or not be able to start operating at all,” said Dave Richardson, spokesman for Railfuture Thames Valley.

“This is not just about Oxford passengers getting to Milton Keynes, but the connections you can make there.

"You could easily get to Northampton, a destination not currently feasible by rail, or head north to Birmingham, the North West or Scotland.

"This would relieve pressure on the overcrowded and unreliable CrossCountry service from Oxford to Birmingham and Manchester, which is very poor compared to what we had before the pandemic.”

(Image: Oxford Mail) An extra platform is still planned at Oxford station, and a new western entrance off Botley Road.

But the need to put in an extra track here has led to the long-term closure of Botley Road, as contractors grapple with the complexity of the utility services under the rail bridge, which needs to be replaced.

The £161m scheme, which includes creating a new western entrance to the station, led to the closure of Botley Road at the rail bridge last April.

The road was due to reopen last month but the reopening has now been delayed indefinitely as a review of the entire project takes place.

“Whatever the problems under the bridge, it’s disappointing to see such slow progress on the new platform, which is still needed for extra services,” added Mr Richardson.

“Our hope is that when the Cowley branch line opens to passengers, Chiltern trains will serve that and free up capacity for more East West services.

"It hopes to provide a further two trains per hour to Bedford by 2030, and Cambridge by the mid-2030s, if a new route from Bedford to Cambridge can be built.”

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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