Great Western Coffee Shop

FGW is holding a Meet the Managers session at Oxford station on Tuesday, January 22, from 4pm to 8pm. Might be an interesting four hours if the RMT strike goes ahead the two previous days. Won't be able to make it myself, as I'm not working that day.

Report from the Oxford meeting (link below.)
http://oxfordmail.net/display.var.1989041.0.rail_passengers_not_impressed.php

Mulled wine and a slice of cake...very nice  :)

bit out of season for mulled wine. lol  :D

Like FGW's trains it was running late  ;)

"Everyone's really annoyed about this. There's lots of rumours flying around and fears it won't open again.

"We just want the footbridge back."

"We acknowledge that for many this will be disappointing news. We're sorry for the inconvenience caused by this and hope our apologies will be accepted.

"High demand in the current steel market and the availability for manufacturing from steel fabricators means this will take longer than we would have liked."

And Hanborough has just been given a new super help-point which incorporates a screen, though I have yet to see it switched on.

And Hanborough has just been given a new super help-point which incorporates a screen, though I have yet to see it switched on.

Can anyone explain why Stratford was showing up on the Oxford CIS?

The CIS/Help phone combo thing at Hanborough looks fairly impressive I have to say.

Our West units also have Wessex announcements stored on the internal 'Digital Doris'.  At seat trolley refreshment service on a 150! LMAO!!

Ah the days of a trolley service on the Bristol to Weymouth line. Operated by the people who run or ran the shop in Weymouth station ticket office I believe?

Still not working this morning, however the message now reads "Great Western apologise this screen is not working". Perhaps someone at FGW reads this!

On a more positive note, installation of the new system has now started with support brackets being installed at the north end of platform 1.

And some of the displays on the platforms are in place now - look similar to those fitted at Reading, which the new system is based on.

However, the wording at the top of the screen is "Next Fastest Train to...": my immediate reaction was "So what's the fastest then?". Maybe this screen title should be altered to "Next FAST Train to..." like it used to be.

However, the wording at the top of the screen is "Next Fastest Train to...": my immediate reaction was "So what's the fastest then?". Maybe this screen title should be altered to "Next FAST Train to..." like it used to be.

Today it would have to be an energy effiicient bulb. By the time it was light enough for people to notice it the train would have gone.   ;D

Don't get me started on eco bulbs which take half an hour to light fully! :-X

... out-of-date myths perpetuated by the Daily Mail ...

... out-of-date myths perpetuated by the Daily Mail ...

Well, the new departure boards are starting to go wrong already. Last night waiting at 1720 on P3 for the 1731 stopping train to Worcester. Departure board shows the 1731 as the 1st train to depart, with the second the 1754 to Bicester.

I think we should expect and accept the odd error here and there from a new system that has only been in operation a week. The previous system got off to a far worse start and never recovered (some would say got much worse) over the 12 years it was in use.

FGW should be praised for not scrimping on the number of displays either. Far more than previously provided and at more sensible locations. The large displays mean it is impossible to be stood anywhere on a platform and not be able to see what will be the next three trains at it will be.

I also hope the staff at Oxford don't continually interrupt the automated announcements now either. It sounds very unprofessional, and was being done even when the automated announcements were correct!

Slough's system is also now operational and with a similar mix of LED and LCD screens. Hopefully more will follow as soon as possible, with priority given to Ealing Broadway, Maidenhead, Twyford, Newbury and the Cotswold Line stations.

Agreed the implementation of the new system looks much better in terms of legibility and number of screens/displays.  But it was my understanding that this was implemented at Oxford by copying from Reading and other stations so why are errors creeping in already. As for not being able to cope with originating trains then that is rather surprising given the number of trains that start at Oxford.

why can't staff check the arrivals, and change the PIS themselves?

They are obviously too busy taking the PIS.

This is a comment about PIS in general:

I wish the software would link terminating trains to new "starts here" trains. So often the PIS says "On time" to a new "starts here" service, but when you look at the arrivals board, it says that the incoming "terminating" train will be late! It can't be difficult to modify the software. Just give every train diagram a code, and feed it into the computer so it can make the links.

Or if this is beyond the software, why can't staff check the arrivals, and change the PIS themselves?

But that theory would go to pot if a set is stepped up to work another train and would require behind the scenes staff that could be customer facing.

Departure boards run by signals and TRUST so diagrams are not important.

Let's face it, the improvements in passenger information over the last few years have been huge. I can imagine it would be a major job to try and allow for this, and as has been noted, would be prone to error. You'd be the first to complain if your service was predicted to be 20 down, but turned up on time because unbeknown to the system a unit had been stepped up or similar.

You do need to be careful. One morning a very late running HST missed Weston. But the predicted arrival time at Nailsea failed to take into account it using the avoiding line. So it suddenly made up 10 mins once it arrived at Worle. I was expecting that to happen, but many passengers would not have and may have then missed it (which would have been even more galling since it was 30 down).    

It would be nice if the CIS as Worcester was also improved.

No computer system could predict this - it needs human intervention to keep the CIS updated.

Glad to see that the spirit of the old system still lives on somewhere in all the new kit.

Glad to see that the spirit of the old system still lives on somewhere in all the new kit.

Tonight as I was waiting for the train home, Annie - and she is frightfully posh in her new incarnation, think 1940s black and white film received pronunciation - burst into life as a train from Bicester approached platform 3, a dead-end bay for those not familiar with Oxford, announcing that passengers should stand well back from the edge of platform 3 as the approaching train would not be stopping! Happily, the driver seemed to know where to find the brake controller.

Cyclists who have abandoned bicycles at Oxford train station face having them scrapped by First Great Western.
The rail company has tagged 600 cycles parked in racks outside the station with people given one month to claim them before they are confiscated and sold for scrap or for re-use.
The move has been welcomed by cyclists in the city who say it has become increasingly difficult to park at the station despite an ^80,000 investment in cycle shelters by FGW last year which provided 80 more racks.
FGW has given owners until Wednesday, June 10, to prove a cycle has not been abandoned by removing the label.
So far, 85 cycles have still not been claimed.

All the pointwork giving access to the stabling sidings on the western side of the line north of the station, used by terminating services from London, has been renewed. I hope they have fitted super-reliable point motors, because as part of the project, Network Rail are removing the points at the north end of the sidings, so no way out in that direction in future if there's a problem at the southern end.

The layout has been changed too. An additional siding has been added which can take a longer train than the headshunt which used to be used in conjunction with shunting moves. That headshunt now shares a signal with the additional siding and has been shortened quite a lot - as far as I can see it will be used for tampers etc. to access the three sidings still remaining of the old diesel depot. As you say though, gains and losses, although not used for a few years (as far as I know) the ability to shunt out of the north end of the sidings has now gone, so there's only one way out!

Can anyone tell me if some form of cost benefit analysis is done to justify the removal of the North end points. It would seem to me to be a very simple sum . Cost of annual maintenance against cost of delay minutes/cancelled trains if the South end points fail say at 06:00 in the morning.

The down loop is now available for passenger services, as I discovered yesterday evening when the 17.51 to Worcester rolled out of Oxford along it and we were overtaken by a Birmingham-bound Freightliner on the main line - had a bit of a 'hang on, what's that doing there?' moment until I twigged what was going on.

Oxford station to get ^10m revamp

Oxford railway station is to benefit from Network Rail's ^3.25bn investment programme, the company has revealed.

More than 2,000 stations will receive a share of the money between now and 2014, with Oxford earmarked to get at least ^10m.

Some of the improvements will include new passenger information systems, new toilets and waiting rooms, as well as new and longer platforms.

A survey will be carried out to find out what passengers want at stations.

Network Rail operations and customer service director Robin Gisby said: "Stations are the railways' shop-front and they have been ignored for too long. With the punctuality of the railways now running at record levels and our major programme to boost capacity and provide more seats on trains under way, we can now look at other priorities and stations are at the top of the list."

Thanks for posting the link, Paul. Exciting times ahead for Oxford! In three years time the number of platforms could be double what there are now.

I hope they don't lose too many spaces in the car park, or if they do they make provision for more elsewhere - when I had a gander at about lunchtime today there was only about 20 free spaces in the long stay car park.

Also, if you look at the aerial diagram of the proposed extra platform, it becomes clear that however they dress it up, this is a far from ideal solution to the capacity problems. Just look at the hike you'll have to do if you arrive at the London end of a HST in the new bay platform and want to connect with a Bicester train or something in platform 3!

And presumably the First Class pax will have furthest of all to walk. ;D  Poor things...

Paul

I think there's around 250 lost parking spaces or so I am told.

Also, bear in mind that to reach the new bay platform terminating trains will have to crossover from the Down Main Line to the Up & Down Goods Loop at Hinksey North. Isnt that just shifting the shunting move from the north of the station to the south - it still takes out capacity doesn't it?

A radical solution is needed - time to deck the car park?

Hmmm - there's little of historic interest about the car park, that decking couldn't be done.

A bit of work getting under way this week, to replace the lifts installed 20 years ago when the footbridge was built

I'm following up to ensure suitable access is maintained at all times for the less mobile - maybe by allowing some blue badge parking outside the access / egress to the downside platform too.

Photographer Martin Loader has just uploaded a photograph taken at Oxford in 1990 of a Reading-Bicester train with the then gleaming new station and the footbridge in its original form - without the lifts. How times have changed. See http://www.hondawanderer.com/L409_Oxford_1990.htm

All change for new-look Oxford platform

These images of how a planned new platform at Oxford railway station could look, has been released as part of public consultation.
Oxfordshire County Council is inviting the public to comment on the ^10m scheme at its website or by picking up details of the plan from the passenger information desk at the station, where details are on display.
The new platform, south of Botley Road on part of the station^s long-stay car park, off Becket Street, will be used by services between the city and London, with the aim of reducing delays caused by shunting trains between the station^s existing platforms and the sidings north of the station.
The platform, inset, will be connected to the main station building by a new covered footbridge over Botley Road. Huw Jones, Oxfordshire County Council^s director for environment and economy, said: ^We^re very excited about this project and looking forward to hearing what people think.^
If planning permission is granted, construction could start next year. The deadline for comments is April 26.
For further details on the station scheme, go to myconsultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk

Passengers see ^12m Oxford Station plans

Rail passengers are being asked for their opinions on ^12m plans to upgrade Oxford Station.
They include building a new platform on the existing long-stay car park and a new footbridge with a covered walkway over Botley Road.
The county council and Network Rail are funding the scheme and want it completed by 2012 if planning permission is granted later this year.
Displays will be on show at the station until 26 April.
There was a mixed reaction among rail users interviewed by the BBC at the station about the plans.
Sumit Chakradorty welcomed the prospect of a new platform. He said: "It would be good for the image of Oxford and make it a better experience for commuters."
But another passenger, Phil Dodd, questioned whether the level of investment was needed. He said: "It's only about 10 years since they refurbished the station. It's a nice scheme but is it really necessary?"
Mark Harwood supported the idea. He said: "Public transport is massively important. Anything that increases rail options has to be good."

^10m Oxford railway station upgrade under threat

A ^10m upgrade of Oxford train station is under threat.

The Department for Transport was set to contribute ^5m but the project is under review as the new government looks to cut back on public spending.

The plans include building a new platform on the existing long-stay car park and a new footbridge with a covered walkway over Botley Road.

Network Rail, which would also provide a share of the money, had planned for the work to be completed by early 2012.

The plans are part of Oxfordshire County Council's Access to Oxford project, which was set up to make the city more accessible.

Leader Keith Mitchell said he hoped there was a way the work could still go ahead.

"It's really important, not just for Oxford but for the whole transport system around because it's a pivotal point in the system," he added.

The plans went on public display at Oxford Station in April and a planning application was being prepared for later this year.

On 24 May, the government announced that savings of ^683m were to be made from the Department for Transport's 2010/11 budget.

I must admit I thought that the scheme might quietly be dropped to save some money, but good news that it's still looking likely to go ahead.

It's also interesting that the figure for the cost of this project varies between ^10 million and ^12 million, and back again, in the three previous stories from the BBC, quoted above.  ::)

The Railway Station Oxford might have had

The railways came to Oxford comparatively late ^ thanks to the university authorities^ fear that the bright lights of London might tempt undergraduates away from their studies and generally undermine the cloistered world of dreaming spires.

The Warden of Wadham College led the fight against the Great Western Railway Act of 1843, which paved the way for the arrival of trains here the following year; and even when the first station was built, it was situated, inconveniently enough, in Western Road, Grandpont ^ so any student catching a train to London had to pay the toll to cross Folly Bridge to get there.

The first station on the present site opened on October 1, 1852, after Great Western took over a rival company, the Oxford and Rugby Railway, which had planned a station there.

Now the ^12.5m expansion plan for the place, approved last week, continues the ongoing railway saga at Oxford. But thanks to Frank Dumbleton, of Chilton, who sent in the lithograph (pictured), dating from about 1846, we have a tantalising idea of how the station would have looked had plans by the Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway company gone ahead.

The picture, displayed in the Great Western Trust^s Museum and Archive at Didcot Railway Centre, shows a splendid structure which, had it been built, would have provided a suitably grand arrival point in Oxford ^ instead of the series of far-from-grand stations we have had to put up with over the years.

Mr Dumbleton writes: ^The architectural style is very similar to Stoke-on-Trent station, which was completed in 1848 and is described as a ^robust Jacobean manor house^. The Oxford Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWW) had a difficult history. It was incorporated in 1845 by Act of Parliament, but not completed until 1853. The route from Oxford to Worcester is today^s Cotswold Line. It was inextricably drawn into the gauge wars, with the Great Western Railway^s broad gauge branch from Didcot to Oxford at its southern end, and the standard gauge railways of the rest of the country at the Wolverhampton end. Not surprisingly, the gauge controversy cost much money, and the OWW had little left to build stations in the style it would have liked. In 1860, it became part of the West Midland Railway, which was absorbed into the Great Western Railway in 1863.

^The Oxford station lithograph used to hang at Paddington station in London, along with many other mementoes of the Isambard Kingdom Brunel era. When Stanley Raymond became the Western Region^s general manager in the early 1960s, he had a mission to banish the GWR traditions that still permeated the place, and he ordered that all the pictures be destroyed. Fortunately, railway enthusiasts rescued many of them.^

For more than a century the present Oxford Station stood cheek by jowl with the lovely Rewley Road station, opened in 1851. It served the line to London via Bletchley and was built by the same engineers who developed Joseph Paxton^s ideas at Crystal Palace ^ which housed the Great Exhibition in London of that year. It closed to passengers in 1951 and was removed to the Quainton Railway Society^s Railway Centre, in Buckinghamshire, in 1998 ^ to make way for the Said Business School.

Crystal Palace burned down in 1936 but the Rewley Road station contained so many echoes of it that the magazine The Structural Engineer commented in 1975: ^Until recently it was thought that no trace of the Crystal Palace structure remained. Strictly speaking, none does, but something very similar has survived.^

It then went on to describe the Paxton-like work at Rewley Road. The magazine added: ^Almost more telling as a comparison than the structural components are the remains of the decorative iron cladding at Oxford which were clearly made from the same castings as in the Exhibition Building.^

As for the dons^ fears that the train to London might take students away from their studies, perhaps they were right: the last train back to Oxford was for years called the Flying Fornicator.

From the Oxford Times (http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/8435056.The_Railway_Station_Oxford_might_have_had/):

Transport projects worth ^62m shelved
9:00am Friday 29th October 2010

^By Chris Walker ^


PLANS to Transform Oxford railway station and the A34 as part of the most extensive transport project in the city^s history have been shelved.

In 2007 the county council was allocated ^62m for its ambitious Access to Oxford project, which promised to expand the railway station and tackle congestion on the A34 as well as the city^s ring road.

At the time the county^s then transport chief David Robertson said it was ^the largest sum for transport ever handed to Oxfordshire^.

Funding for the scheme became uncertain when the Regional Transport Board was abolished by the coalition Government in June 2010.

Now it has emerged County Hall has missed out on the cash after the Department of Transport overlooked the project and chose to spend ^2.3bn on 24 other transport schemes instead.

Commuters now face missing out on the ^12.5m expansion of the station for the foreseeable future as Network Rail^s funding for the scheme is dependent on the council getting the cash.

A further ^47m of investment to cut congestion on the A34 and install new slip lanes and bus lanes on the northern and southern approaches into Oxford also hang in the balance.

Hugh Jaeger, spokesman for the Railfuture campaign group and Bus Users UK in Oxfordshire said: ^This is a disaster.

^The buses will lose out, the trains will lose out and the poor people trying to get into Oxford will lose out.^

The blow comes just six weeks after the city council gave planning permission for the expansion of the station.

The plan would see a new platform added south of the Botley Road to reduce passenger congestion and improve journey times to London.

Chairman of the Oxford-Bicester Rail Action Group Dr Ian East said: ^Oxford Station really did need reconfiguration and expansion.

^At the busiest times it^s overcrowded and heading towards being dangerous.^

The station is at the start or end of 5.6 million train journeys a year, with passenger numbers at Oxford rising by 16.5 per cent in 2008/09.

County Hall can now submit new bids for cash to the ^560m Local Sustainable Transport Fund and ^400m Regional Growth Fund in April next year.

However, with public finances tight it is unclear what scale of project the council will be able win cash for.

Earlier this year councillor Ian Hudspeth, the council^s cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, made a personal appeal to Prime Minister David Cameron to try and secure the cash.

He said: ^This is bitterly disappointing news. Having initially secured funding we have now become victims of the nation^s financial woes and the Government^s efforts to resolve them.

^However, we must retain our ambitions and push our case to central government at any and every opportunity.^

Missing this funding does not affect the council^s ability to fund Transform Oxford or improve Frideswide Square.

However, these projects are currently part of the council^s review of all its capital spending.

Plans to change Heyford Hill roundabout are also not expected to be affected.

Network Rail spokesman Russell Spink confirmed that Network Rail^s cash for Oxford station was not ring-fenced.

He said: ^The loss of the county council^s funding is a blow, but all parties are determined to find a solution which allows us to deliver this scheme.^

DfT spokesman Paul Starbrook said: ^The Access for Oxford scheme did not secure funding through the regional funding and we would therefore encourage the promoters to look at alternative funding mechanisms.^

Labour MP for Oxford East Andrew Smith said: ^This is really bad news. I wrote to the Government strongly supporting the county bid.

^This Coalition decision is cutting off its nose to spite its face because Oxford is an economic powerhouse for the region and the country.

^These improvements would have boosted the economy as well as making travel better for local people.

^I will work with the county council to continue to press our case at every opportunity.^

Conservative MP for Abingdon and Oxford West Nicola Blackwood said: ^This decision is obviously a big disappointment for all of us.

^But we are dealing with one of the most serious fiscal crises this country has faced in the last 50 years and the Government^s first priority has to be to get the public finances back in order.

^Access to Oxford is an important project that would offer a significant economic boost to our region, not to mention improve the quality of life of many residents.

^I have already written on this issue to Philip Hammond, Transport Secretary, and will continue to work with the county council to take our case to the Government.

^I hope that Oxfordshire^s new status as a local enterprise partnership will help strengthen our cause.^

Conservative MP for Henley John Howell said: ^I agree with the county council that it is a shame, but I^m not surprised given the way we^ve been left with no money by the previous government.

^More important than that, the bid made by the county council and others for one of the new local enterprise partnerships has been approved, which presents an exciting opportunity to grasp the issue of infrastructure for the Oxfordshire region as a whole.

^And who knows what that may produce for transport in the local area.^

Conservative MP for Banbury Tony Baldry said he was confident the privately funded Bicester-to-Oxford rail project would go ahead. He said: ^ Clearly it^s a time when all public spending is being substantially reduced so it^s not surprising programmes such as this are being cut back.^

Conservative MP for Witney David Cameron was in Brussels last night and unavailable for comment. Conservative MP for Wantage Ed Vaizey did not return our calls.

A new bus interchange in Mansfield, a plan to make Ipswich^s transport infrastructure fit for the 21st century and a new south entrance to Leeds train station were among the 24 schemes to win funding from the Government.

More than 16 roads projects were among those winning funding from Transport Secretary Philip Hammond including improvements on the M25, M60 in Manchester and M1 in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

The Government will spend ^8.6m on a new bus station in the heart of Mansfield bringing it closer to the town^s trains with a new pedestrian bridge. Meanwhile, a ^14m project to build a new south entrance to Leeds railway station will make it more accessible to 20,000 passengers who head in that direction each day.

In Ipswich rebuilt bus stations, a computerised traffic management and improvements to the town^s cycle network will cost about ^25m. Although not included in this cash, an ^850m revamp of Reading train station and the surrounding track network will start in earnest in December.

Cameron blames deficit for city's transport snub
9:10am Saturday 30th October 2010



Prime Minister David Cameron says he is disappointed that Oxford has missed out on ^62m of investment to improve its road and Rail network.

Yesterday, it emerged the county council had lost out on funding for the most extensive transport project in the city^s history which would have seen the expansion of Oxford Railway Station and tackled congestion on the A34 and city ring road.

Witney MP Mr Cameron has blamed the Government^s ^900bn national debt for the cut in spending on transport projects throughout Britain.

He told the Oxford Mail: ^Clearly it is disappointing some transport schemes aren^t going ahead because of the massive budget deficit we inherited.

^Our priority has to be cutting it. This involves taking difficult decisions and means that it is just not possible for every road and public transport scheme to go ahead immediately.^

Next year the council will have to re-submit the bid to try to win part of a ^2bn cash pot from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and the Regional Growth Fund.

Wantage MP Ed Vaizey has not responded to requests for a comment.

Oxford railway bridge work begins

Work has begun to knock down a railway bridge in Oxford and replace it with a new one so the line underneath can transport more freight.

It is part of a ^71m scheme to improve the rail line between Southampton port and Nuneaton in Warwickshire, via Reading, Didcot, Oxford and Banbury.

Network Rail said the project should provide a cheaper, quicker and more practical way of transporting goods.

Work was due to get under way while the railway was shut on Christmas Day.

The project is expected to be completed by March 2011 and the road over the bridge is due to remain closed for the majority of that time.

The upgrade of the bridge that carries the Old Abingdon Road over the railway at South Hinksey is needed to allow 9ft 6in (2.9m) containers to travel underneath it.

Network Rail said much of the traffic on the A34 is caused by HGVs transporting goods to and from Southampton port.

"The A34 is one of the most congested roads in the country and much of the traffic is HGVs transporting goods to and from Southampton port," Network Rail said.

"With the cost of road congestion to the British economy estimated at more than ^10bn a year, the project will provide vital extra capacity to get freight off the roads and on to the railway."

Well, there's no bridge there now, so something must have happened?

However, getting the old bridge down and reopening the line ready for Monday morning were clearly the most important factors. I don't imagine catching up will be too hard, with three more months allowed to get the job finished.

6 Officers hmm, allowing for time off, sickness, sleep, etc. That will leave around 1 or 2 on duty. Yeah thats going to make a whole load of difference isn't it!
Prob find out that 4 of them are the waste of space PCSO types.

6 Officers hmm, allowing for time off, sickness, sleep, etc. That will leave around 1 or 2 on duty. Yeah thats going to make a whole load of difference isn't it!
Prob find out that 4 of them are the waste of space PCSO types.

Listening and responding to concerns and complaints
We will listen and respond appropriately to concerns and complaints. It is important to increase public confidence in our ability to deal with such issues effectively. If you make a complaint against British Transport Police we will:

demonstrate police accountability
operate to improve standards
be responsive to the complainant^s needs
be just and proportionate
be timely and effective
be open to public scrutiny and sensitive to the public interest

If you would like further information about how to make a complaint ^ including information about how to make a complaint please go to our Complaints against the Police (http://www.btp.police.uk/about_us/complaints.aspx) page.

No, transferred up from Reading.

It is far better for the Bobbies to be deployed out across the patch than to be concentrated in a few places

New British Transport Police team for Oxford railway station

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51001000/jpg/_51001088_btp2.jpg)

British Transport Police have launched a new team at Oxford railway station to cope with a rise in passenger numbers.

The six-strong team will police the railway network from Charlbury, through Oxford, to Reading.

It comes as figures revealed an overall reduction in crime to 115 cases in 2010, compared to 142 in 2009.

Ch Supt Mark Smith, of the British Transport Police (BTP), said officers would have more time to tackle crime and get to know the local community.

"The new office will act as a base for my team to continue protecting and serving passengers and staff, as well as working closely with the rail industry to make the network as safe as possible," he said.

Previously BTP officers travelled to Oxford from London Paddington and Reading.

First Great Western director of communications, Sue Evans, said: "With an annual footfall of 5.2 million, Oxford is one of our busiest stations and we worked hard to get a dedicated BTP team for the area. We're delighted to be able to accommodate the BTP officers at Oxford Station, and will continue to work together to provide a secure environment for our customers."

The majority of reported incidents of crime at the station concerned bicycle thefts, followed by antisocial behaviour.

The previous BTP office on the site closed in 1992 as part of a restructuring of the unit.

Congratulations to Network Rail. In this current climate you have done very well in stringing out a 1 month job into at least 5. No flies on you eh. I wonder how long it would have taken had it been a private sector job, with loss of contract clauses in it?

Purge on abandoned bikes

Owners of bikes abandoned at Oxford Railway Station have until tomorrow to ^remove them or lose them^.

Six weeks ago train operator First Great Western and British Transport Police tagged about 500 bikes left in racks outside the station.

The company said the purge was part of a clampdown on vandalised and abandoned bikes which had been left outside the station and were take up valuable space needed by Rail passengers.

Spokesman Dan Panes said: ^We do this quite regularly. About six weeks ago we tagged all the bikes outside the station and put a note on explaining what we were doing. We explained people had until March 29 to remove the tag otherwise their bike would be seized, refurbished and sent to charity.^

An Oxford-based bicycle business has set up shop at the city^s railway station to enable commuters to have their bikes serviced or repaired while they are away at work. Bainton Bikes, operating from a gazebo at the First Great Western-operated station, is also renting bikes from the facility to visitors to the university city.

Kevin Moreland of Bainton Bikes told the Oxford Mail: ^We were talking to First Great Western about putting hire bikes at the station and they said they wanted a repair service as well.^

Having visited Cambridge to see a business there called Station Cycles, Mr Moreland believed that a similar, train station-based initiative could work in Oxford. ^We know people in Oxford want longer opening hours,^ he explained. ^The feedback we have had is that they just don^t get the chance to get to a bike shop.^

To begin with the facility is open each Monday from 6.30m to 7.30pm, although it is planned that within the coming months it will start operating on a daily basis.

^It has also allowed us to offer hire and cycle tours to visitors and we are planning to open seven days a week from March or April, depending on how things go,^ said Mr Moreland, who also runs Walton Street Cycles in the city^s Jericho area.

Andy Saunders, integrated transport manager at First Great Western, said: ^Oxford is one of our most popular stations for commuting cyclists and I^m delighted to partner Walton Street Cycles and Bainton Bikes to offer this innovative service.^

Full steam ahead for rail police

Oxford^s British Transport Police officers are celebrating a very busy first year since moving on site at the city^s railway station.

In the 12 months since the team took up residence at Oxford Station, charges against abusive rail travellers, thieves, and drunk and disorderly louts have more than trebled, with 51 people arrested and charged last year, compared with 13 the year before.

Three suspects arrested by BTP officers in Oxford over the past year are currently on bail.

Penalty notices for disorder ^ fines of between ^50 and ^80 ^ have also risen with the arrival of the police team. Over the past year they have issued nine, compared to just one in 2010.

Sergeant Adrian Naylor, the officer in charge of Oxford BTP, said: ^Arrests made by the team of four officers have almost quadrupled, which shows that we are able to quickly respond to incidents and deal with suspects efficiently.^

He added: ^Higher figures come as a result of enhanced policing activity by officers, who regularly hold operations and conduct patrols at stations and on trains.^

Successful prosecutions have included the jailing of 23-year-old Dua Noah, from Shirley Place, Jericho, Oxford, who admitted failing to attend a drug-assessment appointment, failing to surrender to court bail, stealing ^13 worth of food from Marks & Spencer, stealing ^185 worth of clothes from Crew Clothing, stealing alcohol from Waitrose in Wallingford, and breaching a suspended sentence.

Noah, who was jailed for 18 months, was arrested by a BTP officer and Police Community Support Officer after being seen helping himself to bottles of wine in the station^s branch of Marks & Spencer. He was already wanted by Thames Valley Police.

The team have also been focusing on bike thieves who target the station^s cycle racks.

Pc Bob Burrowes, also based at Oxford, said: ^We have carried out three high-profile cycle initiatives at Oxford, Didcot and Radley, where we gave out microchips to more than 400 cyclists. The chips, which are unique and registered to an Internet site, are placed inside bicycles meaning they can be returned to their owners if they are recovered after being stolen.^

He added: ^We^ve arrested 10 suspected cycle thieves in the Oxford area and, so far, none of those arrested have come back and been arrested again.

^We have ongoing operations to arrest a further four suspected cycle thieves.

^We also work very closely with First Great Western to maintain the cycle racks, and give out information on how people should lock their bikes up.^

He said one of the team^s biggest successes was the lack of arrests on the rail network during last August^s Oxford United away clash with Swindon, despite more than 1,000 fans travelling to the match by train.

The BTP previously operated a base at Oxford, which closed in 1992 as part of restructuring.

Were you a witness? British Transport Police appeal after woman attacked at Oxford rail station

British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for witnesses after a woman was attacked at Oxford rail station in the early hours of Saturday, 11 February.

Officers would like to hear from anyone with information about the incident which took place around 3.30am as the victim was making her way home after a night out.

PC Anthony Wykes, the investigating officer based at Oxford, said: ^The young woman had been out with a friend for the night. They^d walked back together and parted ways at the station. As the victim walked along the path close to the bike racks, talking on her mobile phone to a friend, she noticed a man loitering close to the bikes. Assuming he was unlocking a cycle, she walked past and continued with her conversation.

^Suddenly, and totally unprovoked, she was hit from behind twice to the head and once to the back. She screamed out and knocked her attacker to the floor as she turned around, before running towards a group of men who approached after hearing the commotion. However, when they got to the cycle rack the man had already fled.^

The victim, from Didcot, reported the incident to police later that day.

PC Wykes added: ^This was a swift and unprovoked attack on a woman who, fortunately, was not seriously injured. Luckily there were people around, however the attack could have been much worse and I am determined to find the man responsible.

^If you were in the area at the time, or noticed a man acting suspiciously in the vicinity, I would urge you to contact police.^

The man is described as white with a slim build aged between 30 and 35 years. He short, dark spiky hair and a moustache. He was wearing dark jeans and a brown jacket.

Anyone with information can call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B5/LNA of 16/02/2012. Or call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Woman describes terrifying station attack

A supermarket worker last night described fearing for her life after a stranger attacked her at Oxford Railway Station.

Kerry Hastings was left screaming for help after a man punched her twice in the head and once in the back before grabbing hold of her jacket.

As the 20-year-old tried to flee from his grasp her attacker fell to the ground and she ran.

The Sainsbury^s cashier from Didcot was going home on her own after a night out with friends in Oxford city centre when the attack happened.

The man attacked her from behind as she passed him loitering by the bike racks at the station at 3.30am last Saturday.

She said: ^d never even seen him before. I didn^t approach him, he approached me. When I had my back to him he hit me.

^I just thought ^am I going to survive?^Somehow he was grabbing hold of my jacket as I was trying to escape and he fell over. I was just screaming.

^I was just screaming, there were no words.^

She ran towards a group of men who approached after hearing the commotion. But when they got to the cycle rack the man had already fled.

Ms Hastings said: ^If it wasn^t for the three guys running over to me because I was screaming, if no-one was there I thought I wouldn^t be alive.

^ve just recovered from five days of back pain and headaches.

^It was a good night out and this had to happen. I feel like Oxford is my home town.

^I felt safe in the city and now I^m afraid to go out alone.^

She added: ^Knowing no-one^s been arrested makes me worried he could be out there doing it to someone else.

^I do think ^why me?^ and if someone saw something then please contact the police.^

The attacker is described as white with a slim build, aged between 30 and 35.

He had dark spiky hair and a moustache. He was wearing dark jeans and a brown jacket.

Pc Anthony Wykes, from British Transport Police, said: ^This was a swift and unprovoked attack on a woman who, fortunately, was not seriously injured.

^Luckily there were people around. However, the attack could have been much worse.^

* Anyone with information can call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B5/LNA of 16/02/2012.

Ministers consider moving Oxford train station

The government has said it will look at proposals to move Oxford's railway station to a new location.

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith raised the issue in the Commons on Tuesday, asking transport minister Norman Baker to look at the plan by Oxford Civic Society. The society wants the station to be moved from Frideswide Square to the Oxpens area of the city.

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/59721000/jpg/_59721851_59721850.jpg)
Mr Baker, who told the house his mother-in-law lived near the station, said he was interested in the plans.

Responding to the Labour MP's question, Mr Baker said: "We are in a position where we are increasingly devolving responsibility for transport matters down to local council level, I think it's right to do that, and people in Oxford are in a better position to know what's best for them than people in Westminster. There are, I think, plans to improve the situation in Oxford anyway in terms of getting more trains running through it and, of course, the electrification programme the government announced will hugely benefit Oxford and points west. We have to make sure what we don't do is spend money now that would be rendered useless by further changes subsequently but I would be interested in those proposals. It's a station I know quite well, not least of which because my mother-in-law lives there... not in the station - nearby, she's not the station mistress."

After the session, Mr Smith told the BBC: "There's a chunk of land by Oxpens which is still owned by the residual old British Rail body and the government wants them to dispose of it. I've written to the secretary of state for transport and said don't sell that just yet because it is part of the jigsaw of land that you would need to assemble if the station could be moved.

"There are very strong arguments, as the Civic Society has said, for moving the station. It would enable you to put a coach station alongside it so you would have a proper interchange. It wouldn't leave the station out on the limb where it is now. It would provide a new gateway to the city, close to the new Westgate shopping centre development, and it would free up a huge amount of land around the present station site and some in Gloucester Green. It would ease all those congestion problems in Frideswide Square, so I think it's worth looking at."

Mr Smith said a study carried out eight years ago found that moving the station would be feasible if funding could be found. He said: "The point is that now there have to be big changes at Oxford station anyway because there's going to be trains running through Bicester down the Chiltern line to London, also because electrification is on the way, they want to use longer trains and have to lengthen the platforms anyway. It seems a once in a century opportunity to get a more sensible location for the station."

Sheriff rides out to save Port Meadow trees

The Sheriff of Oxford has ridden in to stop Network Rail chopping down trees on the fringe of Port Meadow.

The rail infrastructure company began cutting down trees on the edge of track bordering the historic meadow last week. It was part of its plans to increase capacity on the railway corridor through Oxford by reinstating a fourth track from the city^s station to Wolvercote.

But a city council tree officer ordered the work be halted after neighbours and councillor Jean Fooks, the Sheriff of Oxford, complained.

Network Rail, which had planned to fell trees for about a mile between Godstow Bridge and Aristotle Lane, is now in discussions with the council about whether the scheme can resume.

The trees, which are on railway land, are being cut down to assess the potential for running larger freight trains through Oxford.

Ms Fooks, whose role as Sheriff of Oxford makes her responsible for Port Meadow, said she was worried about the ecologicial impact and the threat to nesting birds.

She added: ^The work began last week. Everybody jumped up and down and the city council^s tree officer Kevin Caldicott rose to the occasion and has managed to stop it for the time being.

^The main concerns are the damage to the general surroundings and the fact that it^s bird-nesting season. This is not the time you cut trees.^

She added: ^As the sheriff I am responsible for Port Meadow and I don^t want it spoiled. People want to know what is actually necessary. Should you be doing it now, if at all?^

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said: ^We have spoken to Network Rail and they have agreed to hold off felling the trees while we have further discussions with them.^

The extra track would allow trains from Oxford towards the Cotswold Line and to Banbury to run in parallel rather than sharing the current track.

Network Rail spokesman Sam Kelly said: ^The work we are doing is part of a wider scheme to enable longer freight trains to run in the Oxford area in the future. Freight is vital to Britain^s economic success and it also plays a big role in reducing congestion and carbon emissions.

^We are aware of local people^s concerns and the work has been temporarily suspended while we have further discussions with the council.^

From the Oxford Mail (http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/9660118.Sheriff_rides_out_to_save_Port_Meadow_trees/):

PS: Sheriff? Oh please - this is Oxford, not the Wild West... ::)

But a city council tree officer ordered the work be halted after neighbours and councillor Jean Fooks, the Sheriff of Oxford, complained.

Groan, why didn't they check with the council before getting the chainsaws out? And agreed - trees shouldn't be axed during the nesting season. How would you like it if you went to Tesco's and came back home to find your house bulldozed?

Hopefully this can get sorted asap, so the work can be finished and the extra track laid.

Of course, if railway trees were kept cut back all year round, this wouldn't be a problem!

PS: Sheriff? Oh please - this is Oxford, not the Wild West... ::)

Though a Sheriff has been associated with Port Meadow for many years.  This stone plinth is located in the meadow:

When I posted that original news item, I somehow didn't expect that we'd arrive at Captain Pugwash via The Lone Ranger ...  ::) ;D

Its possible that immediately behind it was the 1306 cross country service from Oxford to the north. Behind that would have been a terminating down local service, which would have to be cleared to the down sidings, and behind that would have been a Cotswolds service. So, its possible that the signaller took the decision to run the freight in order to clear the down line, as this would produce the least worst delay.


Regulation at Oxford is much more of an art than a science!

Yes, but that wouldn't justify the route being set up 6 minutes in advance, during which the ECS for the 1301 Oxford - Padd could have been routed across.

Compromise reached over rail line tree felling

Tree clearance work on an out-of-use section of railway trackbed between Oxford and Wolvercote has resumed after a compromise was agreed between Network Rail and Oxford City Council.

Tree surgeons working for the rail infrastructure company are now clearing low-hanging branches and shrubs to allow surveyors access to the trackbed of a former goods train loop line which runs along the eastern edge of Port Meadow and Wolvercote Common, from Aristotle Lane to the junction for the Cotswold Line to Worcester.

Tree felling work alongside Wolvercote Common was halted last month by the council^s trees officer Kevin Caldicott after the Sheriff of Oxford, Jean Fooks, complained that it could affect nesting birds.

Network Rail wants to carry out a detailed survey to assess what work will be needed to get the overgrown trackbed back into shape to carry a railway line again as part of its plans to increase capacity through Oxford.

If it was reinstated, trains from Oxford towards Banbury and the Cotswold Line would be able to run in parallel to Wolvercote, rather than having to share a single track.

A Network Rail spokesman said: ^We are aware of local people^s concerns and, following discussions with the council^s tree officer and ecologists, have agreed to limit the vegetation clearance to a metre-wide strip along the embankment. This will enable surveyors to assess the condition of the ground, while limiting the visual impact.^

The loop line was built in the early 1940s to cope with a surge in rail traffic during the Second World War. The track was removed after it was taken out of use in 1973. For most of its length it ran on an embankment separated from the main trackbed of the Oxford-Banbury line by a drainage channel.

Hmmm, ok.

But it was mainly the way the article portrayed this sheriff "riding out" to save the trees, shooting his pistol to stop the evil axemen. :o

Sorry, but I don't believe that statement somehow.  I'm fairly sure that 'assessing the potential' (for longer freight trains) would be done well before any trees came down...

Paul`

Southampton Western Docks Extend Up / Down Docks branch
Southampton Maritime ^ Redbridge Extend Depot Reception sidings
Eastleigh Provide 775m Up Loop
Wallers Ash Re-site signalling
Oxford Extend Down passenger loop to Wolvercot Junction
Fenny Compton Increase speed of entry / exit to 40 mph
Dorridge Extend Down loop to 775m
Washwood Heath Extend Up/Derby Slow and Washwood Heath Goods Loop to 775m

British Transport Police (BTP) is appealing for information after a cycle was stolen from Oxford rail station.

Investigators have released CCTV of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the theft, which took place on Thursday, 22 March.

PC Bob Burrowes, investigating officer, said: ^The victim, a 42-year-old from Oxford, had left her bike locked to the cycle racks outside the station at around 3.15pm. When she returned to collect it at 9.50pm she realised it had been taken.^

Officers have conducted several lines of enquiry into the incident including speaking to local commuters and anniversary visits in the area but to no avail. CCTV has been viewed and police are now keen to speak to the man pictured, who is believed to have key information.

(http://www.btp.presscentre.com/imagelibrary/displaymedia.ashx?MediaDetailsID=8703&SizeID=2)  (http://www.btp.presscentre.com/imagelibrary/displaymedia.ashx?MediaDetailsID=8704&SizeID=2)

PC Burrowes said: ^From viewing CCTV footage at the station, we know what a man was seen loitering around the bike racks around 5.15pm. If you recognise the man pictured and think you can tell us who he is, please get in touch.

^Unfortunately cycles are a popular target for thieves but there are several steps people can take to ensure their bikes are adequately marked and secured to help reduce the risk of becoming a victim of bike theft.

^The best thing to remember is to register your bike and also to ensure a solid lock is used to secure it. If a bike is adequately marked, it makes it much easier to identify and therefore reduces its desirability to thieves.^

BTP officers regularly conduct cycle crime awareness surgeries at stations to offer crime prevention advice and identify the top locations for bike theft regularly, they are then targeted them through covert and overt policing operations to try and catch would-be offenders in the act.

Anyone who can name the man in the CCTV images should contact BTP on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference B13/LNA of 16/05/12. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Police advice for making your bike more secure:
- Get your bike tagged and register it at www.bikeregister.com
- Ensure you have a solid lock
- Always lock your bicycle through its frame, not just through the wheel
- Fix your bike to solid, immovable objects in recognised cycle storage areas
- Whenever possible, lock your bike in a busy, well-lit and CCTV-covered area

CCTV released: Cycle theft sees 13-year-old boy^s bike stolen ^ Oxford

British Transport Police (BTP) officers are appealing for information after a 13-year-old boy had his bike stolen from Oxford rail station last week.

Investigators have today released CCTV of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the theft, which took place on Tuesday, 14 August 2012.

PC Roddy Brown, of BTP at Oxford station and who is investigating the theft, said: ^The young victim secured his bike to the racks at the station with a lock around midday. When he returned around 2.30pm, he noticed his bike had been taken.

^After viewing CCTV a man is seen to arrive at the racks on a bike at 2.15pm, before stealing the boy^s bike and riding off.^

Officers are conducting a number of enquiries into the incident including speaking to anyone who may have witnessed the incident, viewing CCTV as well as carrying out anniversary visits to the station.

PC Brown added: ^Officers will continue to carry out high visible patrols in and around the station and bike racks, delivering crime prevention advice for owners who fail to properly lock and secure their cycles.

^We work closely with train operator First Great Western to tackle cycle crime at rail stations and ask passengers to report any suspicious behaviour to a member of staff or police.^

Earlier this week, a man was arrested and charged for the attempted theft of a bike at the same station. Jason Mark Kilduff (33) of Linnet Close, Oxford, was charged with one count of going equipped and two counts of theft of a cycle. He is next due to appear at Oxford Magistrates^ Court on Friday, 7 September with bail conditions not to enter Oxford rail station.

TIPS TO ENSURE YOUR BICYCLE REMAINS SAFE AND SECURE:

Bicycles are a popular target for thieves. Here are some simple tips to ensure your cycle remains secure:

^ Always lock your bicycle whenever you leave it at a designated cycle rack area. Lock the frame and both wheels to a cycle stand.

^ Consider using more than one lock to secure your bike and ensure that you use a recognised security standard lock. D-locks, extension cable or heavy chain locks are certified locking mechanisms. It is important to ensure that yours are up to date.

^ Make the lock(s) and bike hard to manoeuvre when parked by ensuring little room between the stand and the bike.

^ Do not allow your lock(s) to come into contact with the ground, where they are viewed as more vulnerable.

^ Take a photograph of your bike and record your frame number and key details. This will be crucial in recovering your bike if it is stolen.

^ Mark your frame with your postcode in two separate locations, one of which should be hidden. Attach a ^Coded Cycle^ label to reduce the risk of making your bike a target for theft.

^ Do not ride with valuables in open baskets or panniers.

^ Register your bicycle at www.bikeregister.com or www.immobilise.com

Rail bosses are shutting the back entrance to Oxford Station to stop fare dodgers.

The gate off platform two is open during the morning and evening peak hours and leads out into Roger Dudman Way for commuters heading to and from West Oxford.

But First Great Western, which runs the station, is sealing off the exit from January 1. It estimates up to one in five passengers using it haven^t paid their fare because it does not have a ticket barrier.

First Great Western spokesman James Davis said: ^Unfortunately, as many as 20 per cent of people using this gate do so without a valid ticket or without a ticket at all, which clearly isn^t fair on the majority of customers who choose to pay the correct fare for their journey.

^To reduce ticket fraud, and ensure that those who are paying for their tickets are not subsidising those who don^t, we plan to close the platform two exit from January 1, 2013.

^Customers will still be able to access the station from the main entrance, a short walk away, and those with bikes will be able to use the customer lifts provided.

^We^re sorry for any inconvenience caused to our paying customers. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep this under review.^

Yesterday, some passengers raised concerns about extra crowding at the main exit barriers off platform one and inconvenience for people wanting to go to West Oxford and Botley.

Sally Grover, 61, from Tackley, is a library manager in Oxford and uses the station every day. She said: ^It will seriously inconvenience a large number of people, particularly those who live and work in Botley, those who carry cycles, and those who simply do not want to queue at the platform one barriers at busy times. People have to rush across the platform and bridge banging their bikes against people^s ankles.

^It happens, I use my bike and it is inevitable. A bike is an unwieldy thing to carry. We pay over the odds for our tickets and the station facilities should meet the needs of passengers, not the convenience of the station staff.^

Another rail user, who did not want to be named, added: ^I only use it if I have an off peak ticket and the trip, usually with delays, has meant I end up arriving in peak times.^

The gate is open from 6.30am to 9.30am and 5pm and 8pm on week days. Occasionally First Great Western will station staff there to check passengers^ tickets.

Mr Davis would not comment about how much it would cost to install a ticket barrier at the exit.

I've not been round the back of Oxford station, but as I recall it's quite a long way around.   If you want to get to the accessible parking in the future when arriving from London, you'll need to go over the footbridge, out through the main building, turn right outside, go round the bike park, under the bridge, and turn right up the road the the parking.  Or have I missed something?

I'm not defending this decision on a customer service basis though, as it is a useful exit, and I would have thought that ramping up the number of times ticket inspections are made, to say a couple of times a week, would be a better option for everybody.  When the gates were originally installed there were inspections more often than not, but in the last year or so I can't remember a single occasion when revenue/gateline staff have been checking tickets there.

From the Oxford Times (http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/10094408.Railway_station_gate_to_be_shut_to_stop_fare_dodgers/):

Noticed tonight that the poster on Oxford platform 2  advising of the forthcoming closure of the gate is no longer there, nor the laminated paper sign on the gate itself. Is this still going ahead?

The gate was wide open with no checking of tickets tonight.

A CrossCountry train calls at one of Oxford station's two existing through platforms
THE main building at Oxford railway station could be knocked down to make way for new platforms under plans being considered by transport bosses.

The major redevelopment would see four through platforms ^ with no dead ends ^ built to solve what officials see as a major regional bottleneck.

County councillor Rodney Rose, responsible for Oxfordshire^s transport infrastructure, said the project was the only long-term solution to create enough capacity on Oxfordshire^s Rail network.


The proposal is put forward in a new county council rail strategy covering the next 22 years, which lists a station revamp by 2018 as the ^top priority^.

Under the proposal, the existing station would be demolished with trains pulling up either side of two island platforms, boosting the flow of trains.

The council^s draft Rail Strategy and Delivery Plan, to be discussed by Cabinet today, calls for a new project board to oversee the station^s re-design and link it with scheduled work to electrify the track and update signalling.

The strategy says: ^Oxford station has been identified by Network Rail as being a significant constraint on the network and is our top priority for improvement.

^Once the ^850m redevelopment of Reading station is complete, this will become the biggest single capacity bottleneck in the Thames Valley and a major barrier to rail and economic growth.^

It goes on: ^It is predicted that the number of peak services using the station is close to the maximum that can be accommodated, before any additional passenger or freight growth.^

In 2010, less ambitious plans to add an extra platform on the long stay car park were axed when County Hall lost millions of pounds of Government funding.

Network Rail is still committed to the project, and has asked for funding between 2014 and 2019.

But Mr Rose said in the longer term, the complete redesign of the station was needed.

He said: ^I still think this is something we should push for.

^Oxford is going to be the major bottleneck, and if East-West Rail goes through it will make it even worse.^

Network Rail spokesman Sam Kelly said a complete rebuild was not part of its current plans, but it would ^gladly discuss it^ with the council.

She added: ^In terms of the station itself, we will be working with First Great Western, Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council to review passenger flow through the station to provide better facilities in the future.

^With regards to the railway itself, our plans over the coming years will provide the capacity need for the future.^

First Great Western would not comment on the plans, but said stakeholders and rail users should ^make their aspirations known^ ahead of its attempt to regain the franchise to run trains to London from April 2013.

Chiltern Railways has its own separate plans to build two new platforms on the old parcels platform and part of the short stay car park to serve its new Evergreen 3 link to London via Bicester.

The council^s new rail strategy includes other ambitious projects.

It says ^the time is right to look at again at the potential of a Grove & Wantage station^ and that a train service could be offered by firms competing to win the Great Western franchise in 2013.

And it commits the council to investigate reinstatement of the rail link between Oxford, Witney and Carterton, to improve connections with the west Oxfordshire towns and RAF Brize Norton.

The public will be able to have their say on the proposals in a consultation process due to start next month.

RAIL STRATEGY PRIORITIES

• Major projects already set to go ahead include electrification, the creation of the Evergreen 3 link from Oxford to Bicester, the East-West rail link, and ^5.6m redevelopment of Didcot Parkway forecourt
• A new masterplan for Oxford railway station, the re-development of Frideswide Square and integration of the station into the West End redevelopment
• More parking and bus facilities proposed for Bicester Town station, with a link to Bicester North. There is potential for rail freight facility at Graven Hill, using the Bicester Military Railway network.
• Opening a railway station near Grove and Wantage to serve Science Vale UK
• Redesign of Banbury station forecourt
• Improve buses from Witney to Hanborough station, and investigate long-term reinstatement of a rail link from Oxford to Witney and Carterton
• Improve parking and public transport links to stations in the Cotswolds

OXFORD train station should be redeveloped on its existing site instead of being rebuilt elsewhere, bosses behind a planned revamp say.

Network Rail yesterday submitted a raft of infrastructure plans costing up to ^300m, including a new station by 2019.

Its predecessor Railtrack and Oxfordshire County Council had previously backed moving the station to a new site south of the existing station off Oxpens Road.

But Network Rail route managing director Patrick Hallgate yesterday said: ^Our preferred option is to leave it where it is. We believe there is little benefit from moving it, from a rail perspective.^

Moving the station further south would be ^prohibitively expensive^ as the land slopes downwards, he said.

Network Rail wants to add a third platform to the west of the station by the youth hostel and replace the Botley Road bridge to cater for the extra track. That will also see the road space below widened.

Mr Hallgate said passenger numbers have grown by 40 per cent in the last decade and are expected to rise another 40 per cent in the coming 10 years.

A raft of projects is set to boost Oxford^s capacity including faster, bigger electric trains, a line to Milton Keynes and a new link to London Marylebone via Bicester.

Mr Hallgate said: ^If we don^t create another platform we will struggle to meet that extra demand.^

The firm, along with council chiefs, is about to put out an invitation for station designs, which would not necessarily mean a complete rebuild.

Network Rail ^ which owns the station ^ pledged to continue having 90 per cent of trains arrive within five minutes of schedule during the work.

Mr Hallgate said the current rebuild of Reading station showed this could be done, but there would ^inevitably be trade-offs^.

Rodney Rose, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, responsible for roads, ^totally agreed^ with the plans.

He said: ^I don^t see the funding being available to move it and, for a transport hub, it is better to be more central in Oxford.^

The authority is keeping an open mind on where parking and bus services would go, he said.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said: ^Frankly, the cost of moving it further down as people have suggested is astronomical. It is not worth the significant extra expense it would involve.^

But Oxford Civic Society chairman Peter Thompson, who has called for the station to move to land by Oxford Ice Rink, urged a rethink.

He said: ^If Network Rail are spending a huge amount of money anyway, the opportunity should be taken to provide Oxford with a properly integrated transport hub.^

OxRail passenger group spokesman Dennis Tan said of Network Rail^s plans: ^I don^t think it will go down well with a lot of commuters.

^A lot of people were expecting a brand new station. It is very crowded in peak hours.^

Network Rail^s plan has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation which will publish its final decision on how much funding it available in October.

PEOPLE will be able to have their say on billions of pounds of potential investment in the county^s railways tonight.
Members of the public can quiz officers from Network Rail on its five-year investment plan that will see ^9bn spent on the Great Western main line by 2019.
Network Rail plans to electrify the line and redevelop Oxford Station as well as creating a new link between the city and London Marylebone.
Yesterday these projects were confirmed as being part of the organisation^s five-year plan.
Some groups, including the Wolvercote Commoners, have expressed concern about the impact the planned schemes would have.
Commoners chairman Michael Buck said: ^We want to make sure that the development doesn^t affect the common.
The meeting is at the Town Hall in St Aldate^s, starting at 6.30pm with a presentation on the proposals.

10:30am Friday 11th January 2013 in News By Katriona Ormiston

Buy this photo ^ Chris Aldridge, NetWork Rail's principal strategic planner, talks to a packed public meeting in the Long Room at the Town Hall
ARCHITECTS are set to design the revamp of Oxford railway station.

Plans to appoint an architect to redesign the station have been agreed by Oxford City Council and Network Rail.

Councillor Jean Fooks said a competition was being run by the Royal Institute of British Architects for the best design for the station.

She said: ^It is very exciting there will be an architect to design the station. That doesn^t happen to stations generally so it^s great news.

^The plans for the railway in Oxford look really good, but clearly you have to look at the effects of increasing traffic on people who live nearby.^


The masterplan for Oxford^s rail future was greeted with enthusiasm by residents at a meeting on Wednesday.

More than 100 people packed into a crowded room at Oxford Town Hall to hear the proposals.

Network Rail principal strategic planner for the western region, Chris Aldridge, said plans were to make Oxford a central hub for the UK^s railways.

He said: ^It is a great opportunity to develop Oxford. I think the city has a great rail future and we will be working closely both with Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council to make it happen.

^We will be developing it to work as a hub for trains to run across the UK. So far, Oxford has been a terminating point but this will change that.^

Mr Aldridge said plans were to build another platform at the station and extra tracks.

That will double the number of trains which run through Oxfordshire at the moment.

Adrian James, 50, from Osney, said: ^I live near the station and use it. Oxford is a world-class city so it is brilliant we are now going to get our world-class station.

^Everyone in the world knows Oxford and they arrive at that station, and my god what they must think of it at the moment. People in Botley need to feel better connected, too.^

The ^70m development proposed for the county is part of the countrywide ^300m plan by Network Rail announced on Tuesday. At the moment there are 11 trains per hour running through Oxford.

In 2019 that number is set to double to 22 in total.

But people who live near the railway lines said the plans to double the number of trains filled them with dread.

Keith Dancy, from St Peters Road in Wolvercote, said: ^My pictures fall off the walls when a train goes past, the vibrations are so bad.

^My neighbour even thought she was having a heart attack when the freight trains went past she was shaking so much, so it is not good news for us.^

Mr Aldridge said he did not know what kind of mitigation people who live near the rail lines might receive but Network Rail would look into it.

Extra track lines at Oxford station will also mean freight trains can pass through the central tracks between platforms at the station while passenger trains load and unload.

The Royal Institute of British Architects was unavailable for comment.

Extra track lines at Oxford station will also mean freight trains can pass through the central tracks between platforms at the station while passenger trains load and unload.

Just wondering, but would it be at all feasible to extend the existing platforms northward and have crossovers at the mid-way point to achieve the same flexibility as parallel platforms? I can see that it would involve a lot of signalling and fancy pointwork, not to mention at least partial relocation of the carriage/servicing sidings, but on the other hand it could avoid having to extend the current railway boundaries and virtually rebuild the main buildings.

Only last week [9 Jan 2013] there was a public meeting at Oxford Town Hall where NR revealed their plans for increasing capacity, basically involving turning the down platform into an island (on the present site).

The biggest issues would seem to be at the north end, crossing the Sheepwash Channel.   It looks from Google as though the four tracks spread out in width to match the individual bridge positions, (compared to the Botley Rd end of the station it's about twice the width) with the road in question taking the westernmost span.  In hindsight, that doesn't seem to have been such a good idea...

Paul

track diagrams are always very interesting (well I think so)

Sadness as Wolvercote trees go to improve rail links

(http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/resources/images/2324653.jpg?type=articleLandscape)

Villagers who look after protected common land say it is a ^great shame^ that trees alongside have been felled so a railway line can be reopened.

The tree clearance work along the railway line by Wolvercote Common will allow Network Rail to reinstate the disused freight line that runs north from Oxford station, parallel to Port Meadow and the common. The work to clear vegetation was stopped by Oxford City Council last year following complaints that it could affect nesting birds.

Wolvercote Commoners chairman Michael Buck said: ^It is a great shame. I understand it is necessary because they do need the extra line.^

The group is planning to plant trees to shield the view of the railway line, but discussions are still under way.

A Network Rail spokesman said: ^This scheme is a key part of our plans to improve freight capacity on the railway ^ the greenest and most efficient method of transporting goods. Bringing this disused line back means we can run freight and passenger services on separate lines, helping to reduce disruption and making the railway more reliable.^

Efforts to cut bicycle thefts at Oxford railway station continued last week with a cycle surgery.

British Transport Police (BTP) officers offered safety advice and tagged bikes at the station on Wednesday following a recent spate of thefts.

The unique branding makes bicycles easier to identify in cases of theft.

Sgt Stephen Reay, from BTP^s team based at Oxford station ^ pictured with bike owner Georgia Cole ^ said: ^In January we only received one report of a bike being stolen from the station but in February we had three.

^Officers have been carrying out hard work to crack down on cycle theft.

^Patrols have been stepped up and we regularly speak to commuters, giving out crime prevention advice to cyclists on how to avoid becoming a victim of theft.

^Events like this are always popular among commuters and we hope to hold another at the station in the near future.^

Rail bosses to bridge the gap between South Hinksey and Oxford

A bridge for pedestrians linking South Hinksey and Oxford will not be demolished without a replacement, Network Rail has pledged. The rail company has promised not to demolish Hinksey Bridge without constructing a replacement after a planning row forced it to think again about providing disabled ramps.

The company wants to build the new bridge connecting South Hinksey and Oxford because the current one is too low for the overhead wires which need to be installed as part of the electrification of the line.

Plans for the replacement bridge were thrown out by Oxford City Council because the designs did not include any ramps for the disabled and those with pushchairs. City council officers warned that Network Rail could appeal the decision and after the meeting a spokesman said the company was considering ^all options^.

But Network Rail spokesman Sam Kelly has said the company will not demolish the bridge without a replacement, despite the fact that the company can do so without seeking planning approval. The company says it has only been given the funding for a like-for-like replacement of the bridge and that disabled ramps could, in theory, be added at a later date.

Under the Oxford and Rugby Railways Act 1845, Network Rail does not have to seek planning permission to replace Hinksey Bridge, but merely needs ^prior approval^. Prior approval is decided on narrower grounds than a normal planning application. These grounds are that the development ought to be and could be reasonably carried out elsewhere and that the design of the bridge would ^injure the amenity of the neighbourhood^ and could be modified to avoid such injury.

South Hinksey resident Peter Rawcliffe, who has been campaigning for ramps on the new bridge, said: ^I am pleased Network Rail has given the undertaking not to simply demolish the bridge.^

City councillor John Tanner, who was on the planning committee which refused the prior approval, said: ^I am very pleased Network Rail has said this. It would be outrageous if they were to knock the bridge down without replacing it. Lets hope this is the first step towards getting a modern bridge with access for wheelchairs and prams.

^Network Rail needs the cooperation of the city council to electrify the rail line and we all want to see that happen, but it is daft to put up a new bridge which is a replica from the 1940s.^

The ORR final determination for PR13 (http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/PDF/pr13-final-determination.pdf) Page 918 includes funding for:

"Oxford station area capacity and enlargement"

It^s all change again at Oxford railway station

PLANS for the multi-million pound redevelopment of Oxford^s railway station are set to be unveiled early this year.

This will bring to an end months of discussion over the future of the site off Frideswide Square which some hope will see it become an integrated ^transport hub^.

Since early last year, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Network Rail have been working together to draw up a masterplan for the station and the surrounding area.

The new station will include extra platforms to accommodate extra services using the planned new links to London Marylebone and Milton Keynes via Bicester, in conjunction with the electrification and resignalling of the Oxford to London route via Didcot.

These projects are due to be operating by 2017.

A number of potential uses are being considered as part of the ^70m redevelopment ^ including a new bus station ^ but there are plenty of different ideas about what should actually become reality.

In April First Great Western said it would be supportive of anything which came out of the masterplan which made sure there were integrated transport links, while Network Rail appeared cooler on the issue.

Network Rail spokesman Dayle Sellars said the aspiration to create a ^transport hub^ would be wrapped up in the masterplan due to released soon.

County councillor Rodney Rose, deputy leader of transport authority Oxfordshire County Council, said: ^My priority for the site is that people can get on and off trains, that they have somewhere to park their cars and bicycles and somewhere to catch the bus. Beyond that I am not so worried.

^We do need a proper hotel there but we need to be careful that we don^t build the site up so much that you cannot get bus, taxi or car infrastructure in there.^

Figures from the Office for Rail Regulation show that 6,227,018 used the station in 2011-2012 compared with 3,064,362 in 1997-1998 ^ a rise of 103 per cent.

Proposals to create an integrated transport hub in Oxford date back to the late 1940s, when the Great Western and London Midland & Scottish railways proposed a rebuilt station with a bus station alongside on land now occupied by Oxford University^s Said Business School, which was then the site of the LMS^s Rewley Road station.

Oxford Corridor Capacity Improvements

Scope of works
 Improvements to line speeds.
 Improved operational flexibility.
 Bi-directional signalling between Didcot North and Aynho Junction.
 Revised Oxford station platform arrangements.
 Enhancement to the Botley Road bridge.
 Track and signalling enhancement to improve capacity.

Phase 1: enables Chiltern Rail services to commence from London Marylebone to Oxford
from March 2016 as part of the East West Rail scheme, through existing bay platform
enhancement. This will include some reconfiguration to the track layout and sidings to
provide additional operational capacity, capability and flexibility through the station. This
further compliments the concurrent electrification of the railway south of Oxford by Great
Western electrification.

Phase 2: provides additional through platform capacity and line speed improvements to
enable an enhanced timetable to operate electric trains and provides additional East West
Rail services from Milton Keynes or Bedford. This also supports Oxford City Council^s
aspirations to improve the highway through the Botley Road Bridge.

My comment at the end is the position as far as we are concerned. The 'just a booking office' words are unrecognised from the dealings we have had and in fact the multi-party Oxford Project Board is tomorrow [today] where I'm sure clarity will be achieved.

I wouldn't worry about the item in the press - all part of the pre-amble to a decent project in my view.

Oxford rail station falls silent in tribute to employee Steve Cross, 38

(http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/resources/images/3480701.jpg?htype=379&display=1&type=mc2)
Steve Cross

Oxford's railway station was brought to an emotional standstill yesterday as staff, family and passengers remembered a ^top bloke^.

Father-of-two Steve Cross, 38, from Cowley, who worked on ticket barriers at the station for eight years, died of a suspected heart attack at his home on Saturday.

Rail staff, British Transport Police officers and passengers observed a minute^s silence as the station came to a standstill at 11am yesterday.

Mr Cross^s family including his two daughters, Sophie 11, and Amy, 8 and his mother Deborah Kingsman, crowded around tributes by the barriers left in his memory.

(http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/resources/images/3480707.jpg?type=articleLandscape)
Colleagues congregate at Oxford railway station yesterday to remember Steve Cross

Duty station manager Kevin Knight said: ^He was a top, top bloke. We will miss him so much. It won^t be the same at this station. He was a real joker and a genuine good friend. He loved his football and his takeaways but his two girls were all he ever mentioned. We were out with him on Friday night for a colleague^s leaving do and to wake up seven or eight hours later to that call was absolutely devastating. The small consolation is that he spent his last few hours with his closest mates.^

Mark Cooper, 38, from Cowley, was Steve^s best friend of 26 years. He said: ^He was loved in every circle he was in. We did everything together, he always said me and my brothers were the brothers he never had. I was at his house two days before. It^s horrible.^

(http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/resources/images/3480711.jpg?type=articleLandscape)
Tributes left at the station

Candles and flowers were laid out on the floor and his coat was hung up with hundreds of tributes messages pinned to it.

The 38-year-old joined the staff at Oxford station in 2006 and had just started his ninth year as part of the team.

Simon Holden, First Great Western service delivery manager and a close friend, said: ^It^s left a huge gap in this station, it^s left a hole we will never be able to fill. Passengers loved him as well as the staff and I^ve even had emails from directors of other rail companies expressing their sadness. This station is like a family and I^m overwhelmed by the kindness of the people here today.^

Kate Olma, was trained by Steve on the gate before moving on to Didcot Parkway six months ago. She said: ^I feel very sad for his girls, Steve was an awesome person. He was the first person who trained me and he gave me his experience. I^m happy I worked with him, he was really generous and kind and always open and honest. The whole station and everyone who worked with him is heartbroken.^

(http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/resources/images/3480712.jpg?type=articleLandscape)
Oxford railway station comes to a standstill yesterday as staff, family and passengers remembered Steve Cross, who worked on the ticket barriers at the station but died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday

The service information screen at the station, which sees six million people through its gates every year, was filled with a picture of Steve and a statement on behalf of the team. It read: ^Steve was a founding member of the gate line team and has been a tower of strength to all colleagues for the past eight years. His ready smile and banter proved to be a morale booster on numerous occasions. When the going got tough Steve was there.^

Mr Cross^s family thanked First Great Western and those who turned out to pay their respects for the marvellous support.

A MULTI-MILLION-POUND expansion of Oxford station is planned in order to create a rail link to challenge the A34.

Network Rail has submitted plans to Oxford City Council that would see longer platforms built to allow Chiltern Railways^ extended trains to stop there.

It is forecast that 3.3 million more passengers will pass through the station each year by 2026 compared to 2011.

The Chiltern trains would have nine carriages instead of four to cope with the extra demand, and would run from Bicester, Banbury and the new Oxford Parkway station in Water Eaton to London Marylebone.

The extended platforms at Oxford would allow the new extended trains to stop there and create a direct link from Didcot to Bicester.

City council leader Bob Price said: ^We are extremely happy at the way in which railway improvements will make it easier to get to London and the way in which they put Oxford at the centre of the rail network. I think it will have some effect on congestion and we certainly welcome that. It will ease pressure on Woodstock Road, Banbury Road and so on. Rail investment is really important for tourism and for the business economy because all the research shows that railways are vital in improving the attractiveness of Oxford."

Network Rail would not reveal the cost of the expansion project but a similar scheme approved in October 2010 but never implemented would have cost about ^12.5 million.

The company^s planning statement for the scheme said: ^East West Rail [a wider project to link East and South West England] will enable half a million new rail trips, and provide a direct Didcot-Oxford-Bicester link to rival the A34.^

Rail user^s group Railfuture, which campaigns for better train services, said the scheme would not just benefit people who use trains regularly.

Thames Valley representative Andrew McCallum, from Banbury, said: ^I would like to see the dominance of the A34 challenged. The congestion is getting chronic and something needs to be done. This is not the whole solution but it is a big part of it. The trains could keep going down to Didcot and even the South Coast. It will benefit those who use the train, those who will still have to use the roads and those who currently use the roads but will be able to take the train.^

The project would also see the one-storey staff accommodation block beside the station demolished and a temporary two-storey building built in its place.

Network Rail said it could be there for up to ten years as part of the station masterplan if that scheme goes ahead.

The masterplan, supported by the city council, Oxfordshire County Council, and First Great Western, would see ^75m spent to redevelop the station.

The platform extensions are not officially part of the scheme but would be the first stage of redevelopment of the station.

Susanna Pressel, city councillor for Jericho and Osney ward which contains the station, said the plans for a temporary accommodation block concerned her.

She said: ^I share the concern of some residents who would be seriously affected by these proposals. I have seen their tiny back gardens and I hope it will not be necessary to put a new two-storey building right up against them. This would cause them to lose a lot of sunlight. We need to make sure that anything that is built does not cause more noise pollution or light pollution.^

A consultation will run until Monday, February 16, and the city council will be asked to decide whether to approve the scheme by March 9.

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for transport David Nimmo Smith said: ^The changes planned at Oxford station are welcome. It is already a very busy railway station and there is more passenger and freight traffic to come in future years. The extra capacity that is planned is very timely and I look forward to seeing work getting under way. It is important that local people are able to see that there are positive plans in place for the future.^

The Chiltern trains would have nine carriages instead of four to cope with the extra demand, and would run from Bicester, Banbury and the new Oxford Parkway station in Water Eaton to London Marylebone.

The extended platforms at Oxford would allow the new extended trains to stop there and create a direct link from Didcot to Bicester.

Network Rail said it could be there for up to ten years as part of the station masterplan if that scheme goes ahead.

The masterplan, supported by the city council, Oxfordshire County Council, and First Great Western, would see ^75m spent to redevelop the station.

The platform extensions are not officially part of the scheme but would be the first stage of redevelopment of the station.

So the new platform "4"  will be only 4 or 5 cars long, and P3 can't really be any longer than it is. That is what the plans show (though they do not extend to the end of P3).

Chiltern have already organised the 9 x 2 car 170s from TPE that will apparently be converted to 168 standard, AIUI they get the first 5 in a few months time.

Rumour is that all of Scotrail's 170s also come up for grabs next year, (less those already moving to Southern in July).

Paul

Would this be better added to the existing thread at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=593.0 (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=593.0)

In any case, what trains are Chiltern likely to come up with in the next 10 years?

As stated above, it is proposed to deliver East West Rail in two phases:
Phase 1, between Bicester and Oxford, will deliver both the infrastructure required for
Chiltern^s Evergreen services to London and the incremental works required for the later
introduction of East West Rail services.

Just had a tweet that suggested there would be no trains through Oxford for 9 days in February 2016.
Anyone know anything more?

REPLACEMENT ROAD TRANSPORT REQUIRED
BETWEEN DIDCOT/OXFORD AND BANBURY /
LEAMINGTON / HANBOROUGH / BICESTER.
FREIGHT DIVERTED VIA WCML. SPECIAL
ARRANGEMENTS BY PILOT WORKING REQUIRED
TO REVERSE AT HANBOROUGH.

NOTES: This is a Western Route possession that
impacts on London North Western Route. After this
possession, OX75 has moved north; Down Jericho
line renamed to be Up Relief and is bi-di

Work: Oxford enhancement and resignalling

thanks for the responses and what is EAS? and I may also take a half term holiday that week given that I commute from Didcot to Oxford each day ;)

Touching scenes as family unveil plaque to Oxford station worker Steve Cross

Family, friends and colleagues gathered at Oxford station to unveil a plaque commemorating a ticket barrier man who died earlier this year.

The plaque has been put up where father-of-two Steve Cross stood for the best part of a decade before his sudden death in January. It was officially unveiled yesterday by his two daughters Sophie, 12, and Amy, eight, alongside his mother Debra Kingsman.

Ms Kingsman said: ^The girls are so proud of their daddy. It^s a lovely tribute to him and this will always be here for them to come and see. I am so proud of him too and First Great Western has been so supportive to us ^ I want to thank the company. The idea of the plaque is very moving and it^s fitting that it^s here where he stood for so many years.^

She added: ^So many of his friends and work colleagues came along ^ it^s very touching."

The plaque in memory of the lifelong Liverpool fan was thought up and paid for by duty station managers Warren Bartlett and Kevin Knight, and station manager Richard Fry.

It read: ^Steve Cross First Great Western Oxford Gateline 2006-2015. Father, Friend, Work Colleague, Gentle Giant. Always in our Hearts."

The last part of the plaque stands for the Liverpool Football Club song You^ll Never Walk Alone. Two renditions of the song were played at his funeral in January.

Mr Knight said it would provide somewhere to remember his colleague. He said: ^He was one of a kind, you won^t find many like him. We thought it would be nice to have it right in spot where he worked, all of his gateline colleagues thought it was a brilliant idea.^

He added: ^We wanted to do something and have something permanent here for Steve, especially for his family and the staff. I hope that on anniversaries and birthday his girls could lay flowers there.^

Mark Cooper, 38, from Blackbird Leys, was a close friend of Mr Cross for more than 20 years. He said: ^It^s still quite raw in people^s hearts and First Great Western has given us a lot of support. He was liked in every circle he was in. The plaque says ^Gentle Giant^ and that was him all over.

Railway chaplain Chris Newport said before the unveiling: ^We need to celebrate the life of Steve and it^s clear that First Great Western staff loved him as a worker and colleague. I know that he is looking over now and smiling at such a wonderful occasion.^

A collection has raised more than ^2,000 for a trust fund for his daughters.

Vote launched to help decide revamped Oxford station design
(http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/8C97/production/_87119953_a0290cc9-6bc2-4e9c-9591-64a59ac38c8c.jpg)
 Members of the public can vote for which Oxford Station design they would like to see

Designs for a revamp of Oxford station have been unveiled and the public will be able to vote for their favourites.

They show ideas for an estimated ^125m redevelopment of the train station and regeneration of the surrounding area.

Six architects were asked to submit designs as part of a competition backed by the city and county councils.

City council regeneration director David Edwards said an expert judging panel would also have a say before the final design is unveiled.

Members of the public can vote from Friday by visiting Oxford City Council's website.

Struggling to like any of those, most of which are quite alike (slabby)

Can someone check the EAS & update us on current plans? They must be set in stone by now?

How about another rebuild like Newport, South Wales?

Winning designs announced for multi-million pound Oxford Rail Station revamp
Naomi Herring, Reporter covering Bicester

THE top three designs of the multi-million pound overhaul planned for Oxford Rail Station have been announced.

The striking designs give an insight into what the city centre rail station could look like in the future and will be used as inspiration for the long-awaited ^75m revamp.

Six designs were put to a panel of judges and following a public consultation Entry F by architects AHR was chosen as the 'people's favourite' with 70 per cent of the vote.

A judging panel - made up of Network Rail, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, the Department for Transport and Great Western Railway - separately selected the design along with two others.

Winning designs including entries from architects Wilkinson Eyre (Entry B); Allies & Morrison (Entry C) and AHR (Entry F).

Chairman of the judging panel Fiona Piercy said: "We were delighted with the calibre of architects involved. They all produced excellent ideas making it very hard to choose the three winners.

"The ideas will help us set the benchmark for architectural quality standards and raise ambitions for a new world class gateway station for Oxford building on the completed work at Frideswide Square and linking to new schemes at Oxpens  and the Westgate development."

If & when the up loop platform opens (& it is on plans I've seen) another renumber will be necessary...and platform 5 will appear first on the down loop

Further details of the Oxford Station Masterplan have been published  http://www.oxfordwestend.co.uk/Direct/Loresexhibitiongraphics.pdf (http://www.oxfordwestend.co.uk/Direct/Loresexhibitiongraphics.pdf)

I've seen that before, it's a 2014 pdf.    Quite possible to have changed since then, I'd have thought?

Paul

I hope that if any platforms are likely to be occupied by more than 1 train at a time – quite likely I would have thought with terminators coming in from the north and the south – then the platforms will be properly signalled for this with mid platform signals etc.  Unlike Reading.

OK, but Group Standard GK/RT0044 “Guidance on Permissive Working” states:

"2.2.1    Facilities for signalling a passenger train on to an occupied line shall only be provided where all of the following apply:
                a) It is a platform line.
                b) The purpose is for platform sharing and / or joining trains.
                c) There is no reasonably practicable alternative method of working which presents less risk."

Para c) acknowledges that signalling a passenger train on to an occupied line (ie permissive working) carries a risk.  I would have thought that for a new layout with new signalling it would be difficult for NR to claim “there is no reasonably practicable alternative method of working which presents less risk”.

We are interpreting this extract differently, others can come to their own conclusions.  The fact is that permissive working carries risks which can be avoided if fixed signals are provided, and providing fixed signals at new build stage is relatively easy. 

NB the Sprinter/High Speed Train (HST) collision at Plymouth last year, the RAIB Report on which was published in February.

This link provides the first word from the DfT I have read that Didcot-Oxford wiring is not abandoned but is going ahead. This presumably will be part of the CP6 agenda. And, of course, it will give those nice new EMUs something to do when otherwise they'd be sitting in their depots for most of the day.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/15426688.Train_track_electrification_will_go_ahead_in_Oxfordshire/?ref=rss

DOZENS of people were left stranded outside of Oxford Railway Station after staff failed to unlock the doors before the first train arrived.
More than 100 people were reportedly left queueing outside the main entrance after the error this morning.
They could only watch in despair as the first Chiltern service to London passed by the station oblivious to the hordes of passengers stuck behind the locked door.

So is this work all the changes south of the station that are on this plan (http://16cbgt3sbwr8204sf92da3xxc5m-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Oxford-Phase-1.pdf) of Oxford Corridor Phase 1?

A massive infrastructure investment for Oxfordshire was announced today. The focus for the first year is transport related. According to the Oxford Mail:

"There will be £3.25m for a Botley Road corridor project - to give buses priority and improve cycle provision and the road condition - and £500,000 will be put towards a study to widen Botley Road rail bridge to facilitate the Oxford Station development and create more rail lines."

Can someone please tell me why half a million pounds is needed for a study into widening one bridge when, I suspect, everyone knows of its advantages.

Widening Botley Road railway bridge will support the Oxford rail station development, enabling more rail lines to be provided to increase capacity through Oxford; while widening the road underneath the bridge will provide more space for cycle lanes and wider pavements.

The Year 1 funding is for design work.

Bear in mind that "widen" doesn't mean the usual here.....where most would think that the bridge supports are being pushed further apart, so as to widen the road underneath (or over the top)

IN this case, 'widen' means to stretch it sideways, across the road underneath. The road isn't being widened, the bridge is - such as to take more tracks across it. THis means more road being covered by a widened bridge.
...

Ok, boy....widening the road when the bridge abutments are brick built & already several metres high from the road to bridge level. To take (at least) one side down to dig out the earth behind?

And which side - lose car park (or bus station already designed to fit, so that would be smaller_ or station area (actually the mega bike park). Your talking serious £millions just doing that, while closing the road for weeks in order to achieve it.....nah, won't happen easily

Ok, boy....widening the road when the bridge abutments are brick built & already several metres high from the road to bridge level. To take (at least) one side down to dig out the earth behind?

And which side - lose car park (or bus station already designed to fit, so that would be smaller_ or station area (actually the mega bike park). Your talking serious £millions just doing that, while closing the road for weeks in order to achieve it.....nah, won't happen easily

For those not familiar with Oxford replacing this bridge effectively cuts off west Oxford from the city centre without any obvious way to mitigate the closure.

I believe the Westgate Hotel and a couple of other smaller old railway buildings will be demolished in order that the bridge can prepared on site to be slid into place to reduce the length of the disruption.  Part of the Youth Hostel will go in order to provide the extra platform.

Indeed, though perhaps the Westgate Hotel will be demolished this year? 

If the road here is to be dug down further do you think it would require a sump for water collection similar to the Vastern Road bridge at Reading?

It will as I think its as near to the river than Vastern Road Bridge

Does anyone know when the entrance/exit from P1 and p2 are going to open? It seems to have been taking a very long time.

I can answer my own question as the new entrance/exit from P1, P2 and P3 was open this morning (16th October).

Plus extra toilets 😁

Should that read December? Or has this post taken two months to get through the system?  ;D

Does anyone know when the entrance/exit from P1 and p2 are going to open? It seems to have been taking a very long time.

Following on from previous posts - is Oxford Station the most inadequate station for a town of its size in the country?

Following on from previous posts - is Oxford Station the most inadequate station for a town of its size in the country?

I always wonder why Oxford station has never really been up to the job. Didcot is the size and type of station that Oxford needs but it has an equivalent of Prince’s Risborough instead. The space available for expansion is tight, so I’ve always wondered whether relocation to the south of Botley Road is the answer to Oxford’s capacity problems.

maybe a three mile spur from Culham station to Abingdon for its 40,000 residents?

The Oxfordshire Growth Board is currently considering the following enhancements in the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study over and above today's normal provision, although how this aligns with that the various railway bodies are doing / can do isn't clear to me. I guess too that some in the 2028 list may supersede 2024.

2024
Didcot-Milton Keynes: 2 tph, call at Culham
Bedford-Oxford: 1tph
Birmingham MS-Oxford: 0.5 tph

2028
Cowley-Marylebone: 2tph
Paddington-Hanborough: 1tph
Didcot-Hanborough: 1tph shuttle, call at Culham
Paddington-Great Malvern: 1tph
Cambridge-Bristol: 1tph
Cambridge-Southampton: 1tph
Birmingham-Bristol (via Coventry/Oxford) 1tph, call at Grove
Birmingham-Oxford (via Solihull): 1tph
Banbury-Oxford: 0.5 tph shuttle, call at Begbroke

So - why stop the 2024 MK at Didcot when it could go through to Reading, providing connections to Gatwick/Guildford/Elizabeth Line/Kennet Valley/SW Peninsular services, and if it's a "slow", could restore a more frequent full stopping service between Reading and Oxford?

After 2028 - where is the current Cross Country service (2 an hour Oxford-Birmingham via either Solihull or Coventry)? It looks like part only in that list.

However, an hourly Cambridge - Southampton, presumably via Reading is something to look forward to!

What is England's Economic Heartland?

England's Economic Heartland is a strategic collaborative partnership between 11 local transport authorities and four local enterprise partnerships. It provides strategic leadership in the long term planning of the region's strategic infrastructure and services, in order to realise the region's economic potential in a way which improves accessibility and inclusivity, quality of life and the environment. England's Economic Heartland is co-funded by its partners and the Department for Transport.

Oxford's first railway station, in Grandpont, 1844

The Grandpont terminus of the new line was built on what is now the corner of Marlborough and Western Roads. The station (below) was a mainly wooden structure with two tracks and small wagon turntables at the terminus ends. A further three tracks ran alongside serving a large goods shed behind the station. A single track continued 400 yards to the river bank where there was a small loading jetty and a crane. Water for the engines was obtained straight from the Thames and stored within the station area in large barrels, which were manhandled onto the locomotives to fill the tanks.

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/grandpont.jpg)

Cowley Branch Line

Growth Deal funding will contribute towards complementary development work including a nine-day survey and risk assessment of the level crossings, signal sighting assessments, an assessment of structures and ground investigations for a new bridge span over the river near Oxpens. Initial output definition work for the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study has proven that it is technically feasible to reintroduce passenger trains on this freight-only branch line.

The second stage of the Study is now nearing completion with Network Rail identifying likely estimated costs for infrastructure upgrades on the main line south of Oxford station needed to provide extra capacity for an increase in train services, including those that will serve Cowley. A package of further technical work has been agreed to provide more certainty on requirements and a better level of cost maturity, and includes track and signalling design between Kennington and Cowley, analysing topographical survey data and trackbed investigations for new tracks on the branch and over key structures. Outline station design and master planning is also planned to define the type of station, the range of facilities and the land required for each of the new stations to ensure they integrate with the communities they serve and prioritise active travel.

The DfT is understood to have authorised design work to commence on a programme of rail infrastructure enhancements in and around Oxford.

The proposals have been recommended in the stage two report of the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study for the DfT, Network Rail, councils and England’s Economic Heartland.

Stage one of the study, which reported last January, set out aspirations for additional services through Oxford, including extending East West Rail services to Didcot and, in the...

The funding will progress the next stage of development work ...

As part of the plans the road network will also be improved near to the station as Botley Road bridge will be replaced and the road lowered to enable standard double-decker buses to pass underneath for the first time. As part of the new design, a four-metre wide cycle/footpath will also be installed on each side to encourage sustainable transport and improve safety.
...
Early consultations about the proposals have taken place with local residents ahead of the plans being formally submitted to Oxford City Council. Further funding is required for the full implementation of the scheme and the Full Business Case for the project will be submitted to DfT later this year, with a decision on final funding expected in spring 2022.

Now, hold on there ... what has been announced (and I can't find it from DfT) is:
and then ...

But it is a big step along the way.

But also it says 'Botley Road bridge will be replaced and the road lowered to enable standard double-decker buses to pass underneath for the first time' but last time I looked standard double-decker buses already go under the bridge.

The Transport for Works Order is expected to be signed off before the summer & application to the DfT for funding soon after..

Yes, that’s right Paul.  Even some of the signals already have route indications into what will become Platform 5.

There are some new high speed S&C’s going in between the Walton Well Road bridge and Oxford North Junction as well, but again, signals are already ready and waiting for that.

The Sheepwash bridge replacement at the north end of the station will be quite a big project, but nothing compared to the Botley Road bridge works.

I was fairly sure that would be the case;  I also thought you’d posted a track layout including P5 somewhere, but I’m not having much success finding it…

I’ll try and repost it later.

Thanks stuving, I didn’t go back searching anything like as far as 2013, to find the “earlier post”, doesn’t time fly... 

I did see that link to an NR presentation but haven’t tried to open it, they seem to want some sort of log-in.

The Transport for Works Order is expected to be signed off before the summer & application to the DfT for funding soon after..

The Botley Road rail bridge will need to be replaced as part of Network Rail’s plans to increase capacity at the station, with this leading to the closure of the road.

While timings on how long the closure will last are unconfirmed, it is believed that it could be approximately three months.

A spokesperson for Network Rail told the Oxford Mail that both Botley Road and the station will be closed next summer, either at the end of July or start of August.

Network Rail says plans are set to be finalised towards the end of this month.

Lines in and out the station are already set to be closed over four weekends in September and October, to allow the second phase of works to increase capacity.

This is currently set for the weekends of September 10-11, 17-18, and 24-25, plus October 1-2.

Usually in these cases the road closure is significantly longer than the rail closure so I am guessing that Botley Road will be closed for 3 months but the rail closures will only be as in the EAS. 

Oxford area – weekends of 10/11, 17/18, 24/25 September and 1/2 October

No train services to/from Oxford.

Rail improvement work will affect trains between Didcot Parkway, Oxford and Hanborough.

This work will also affect CrossCountry trains between Banbury, Oxford and Didcot Parkway, plus Chiltern Railways trains between Oxford Parkway and Oxford.

Last year, NR were saying even a Botley Road closure of five days would be enough. That was for trunding in a new bridge deck, but I guess the work on the road is not really theirs to do or to make statements about.

The work to replace the bridge is scheduled to take place between 29 July and 6 August 2023. During this time Botley Road will be closed to through traffic and there will be no train services in or out of the station.

Significant preparation work, including the diversion of utilities, needs to be done by the contractor Kier, who were appointed earlier this year, on Botley Road over the coming months, ahead of the bridge being replaced next year. The work to replace the bridge is scheduled to take place between 29 July and 6 August 2023. During this time Botley Road will be closed to through traffic and there will be no train services in or out of the station. Discussions about the requirement for road closures during the upcoming preparation work are ongoing with Oxfordshire County Council and further information will be announced in the coming weeks.

That deepened road bridge is going to need a reliable set of pumps for when the Isis tops her banks.

Also, the level crossing there - which until fairly recently was available for use on request from those with overheight vehicles, but increasingly not publicised.

I don't think it's been used as a crossing for overheight vehicles for at least twenty years, with any such request politely refused, and with works associated with the 2018 resignalling completely blocking it off.

70. Section 5(6) of the Transport and Works Act 1992 provides that a TWA order “shall not extinguish any public right of way over land unless the Secretary of State is satisfied – (a) that an alternative right of way has been or will be provided, or (b) that the provision of an alternative right of way is not required.” The Order does not seek to extinguish any public rights of way, save for Article 15 which stops up the former Oxford Station Emergency level crossing parallel to Botley Road (plot 34) and extinguishes all rights of way over that level crossing. Given that it is a disused level crossing (being both redundant and physically blocked from use on safety grounds) the provision of an alternative right of way is not required. In the County Council’s deed of agreement with NR, the County Council has stated its support for formalising the closure of this redundant level crossing (JDL proof 4.10.4).

But possible additional road closure(s) outside those dates - looks as though the bridge will be the final works in the area

But if there are delays in moving the utilities, it would still affect the same lines that go over the bridge in the tunnel under that level crossing?

You can imagine a utility suffers a failure of their equipment under there & network rail won’t suddenly stop all their services to allow the fault to be fixed.

“Sorry, power cut/no water until the weekend when the rail allows us access.”

Or

“Sorry, trains are at a stop until your water company fixes their burst water main. This may be days later”

Cables can’t carry water….

Rail passengers advised to check before using rail services to Oxford at weekends from 10 September to 2 October
Region & Route: Wales & Western | Wales & Western: Western

Network Rail is urging passengers to check before travelling and to plan ahead, with four consecutive weekends of disruption to train services due to start this weekend.

Over the following four weekends – 10 and 11, 17 and 18, 24 and 25 September, as well as 1 and 2 October – there will be no train services in or out of Oxford, between Didcot, Banbury and Hanborough.

During this time, there will be regular buses operating between Didcot Parkway, Oxford station, Oxford Parkway, Banbury and Hanborough. On 10, 11 and 18 September buses will also go onto Leamington Spa. Rail passengers will also be able to use their train tickets on the following local bus services:

2 between Kidlington, Oxford Parkway and Oxford (Stagecoach)
7 between Woodstock, Oxford Parkway and Oxford (Stagecoach)
Connector X2 between Didcot and Oxford (Oxford Bus Company)
City X3 between Abingdon, Didcot and Oxford (Oxford Bus Company)
Connector X32 between Wantage, Didcot and Oxford (Oxford Bus Company)
S3 between Charlbury, Oxford Parkway and Oxford (Stagecoach)
S4 between Banbury and Oxford (Stagecoach)
Passengers wanting to travel directly between London and Oxford can use the Chiltern Railways service that operates between Oxford Parkway and London Marylebone. There will also be regular trains to Bicester from Oxford Parkway. A regular bus service will also be operating between Oxford Parkway and Oxford city centre.

The industrial action announced for 15, 17, 26 and 27 September will also severely disrupt train services, with no services at all on some lines. Passengers should check with the relevant train operator before travelling.

Network Rail has been working closely with its train operator colleagues and partners including the city and county councils, universities, and businesses to ensure passengers are still able to get to their destinations and to help reduce disruption as much as possible.

Over the coming four weekends, Network Rail’s team of engineers will be working to on the railway to create three high-speed crossovers, allowing trains to switch tracks - at Oxford North Junction (between Walton Well Road and Aristotle Lane bridges). This is the first part of Network Rail’s  £161m redevelopment of Oxford station and railway that will see the station expanded with an additional platform and track, and a new western entrance. The three new high-speed crossovers will enable the additional train services for Oxford that are part of this plan.

All travel information and details of the plans for Oxford station can be found at networkrail.co.uk/oxfordphase2

...continues (https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/rail-passengers-advised-to-check-before-using-rail-services-to-oxford-at-weekends-from-10-september-to-2-october)

Shame the park & ride buses appear to be excluded from that list above!

The service 7 is apparently the Park & Ride Bus from Oxford Parkway. It's been combined with the service to Woodstock.

There might have been logical to include the S6 bus to Swindon

It could happen, but turning the bus around will be difficult. Mill Street will remain open, but not really suitable for buses

I must admit I'm surprised Oxford City Council are prepared to allow such a long full closure of Botley Road to cars.  They cycle and footpath routes are going to be very busy!

I must admit I'm surprised Oxford City Council are prepared to allow such a long full closure of Botley Road to cars.  They cycle and footpath routes are going to be very busy!

Oxford City Council probably asked for it to be as long as possible.

My thoughts also. If they are anything like Bristol City Council then nothing would surprise me at all. I like going to Oxford for work but given the impending disruption that this will cause I am glad I don't live there!

Dave

Oxfordshire County Council, as the local Highway Authority, is a key stakeholder in this project. The scope of the project includes highway works in addition to railway works. Whilst the developer Network Rail proposes to replace its existing rail bridges over Botley Road, it will also address:

    the vehicle headroom issues below the bridges (by lowering Botley Road)
    the historic local flooding incidents (by improving the drainage provisions)
    the Active Travel issues (by providing new pedestrian and cycle ways)

The County Council has supported this project to date, with oversight, and is included in the current Detailed Design stage and Traffic Management Planning for Network Rail’s overall delivery process.

the Active Travel issues (by providing new pedestrian and cycle ways)

The City Council is planning authority, which deals with the bridge but has little to do with the road underneath it. That belongs to the County, as the local Highway Authority. I'm not sure whether they will be doing some rebuilding of Botley Road outside Network Rail's own project…

Oxford City Council probably asked for it to be as long as possible. No-one hates their residents more than Oxford City Council. I think the secretary of state for transport ought to step in here, though. Whatever the benefits are delivered by the railway improvements cannot possibly be worth the devastation caused by closing the only road into Oxford from the west for a year.

My thoughts also. If they are anything like Bristol City Council then nothing would surprise me at all. I like going to Oxford for work but given the impending disruption that this will cause I am glad I don't live there!

Dave

The council recognises that there would be challenges implementing the six trial traffic filters during the works for the replacement of the rail bridge and the closure of Botley Road as a result. If the council’s cabinet agrees to implement the trial filters, there would be a further recommendation that this should happen after the Botley Road reopens.

Community drop-in event – Thursday 17 November
The next community drop-in event is due to be held on afternoon of Thursday 17 November at the West Oxford Community Centre on Botley Road.

Members of the project team will be in the Mary Town Room between 13:00 and 17:00.

Hi there
I wonder if someone can tell me how much the car park is please? 
If I search on the APCOA app I can find the station but it does say "see platform for discount" so I assume there is a location code on posters beyond the ticket gates that gives a different price. 
The app seems to quote about 30 quid per day, but national rail and GWR website suggest 6.70 ! 
Parking Saturday to Sunday if this makes a difference.
Cheers
Alan

And that code hasn’t changed since introduction!

So anyone who has travelled from there likely knows this code, and can’t be keeping many out these days. I’m almost minded to post it here, in ordee that it might dinally get changed.

You need to pay online using the app or by phone quoting the car park code number. As I understand it is like Bristol Parkway and there are two codes. If you pay using the publicly available code it is very expensive £30.  However once you are on the platform there is a dot matrix sign with another code which if you use that you get to pay the lower amount £6.70.  It is to try and ensure the car park is for rail users only. 

First report said that NR weren’t ready to start work on January 9th, further reports said that they were working to reduce the closure time.

Having issued the contract to Keir, it seems as it is they that aren’t ready? And as it’s Keir, presumably not caught yp in the RMT NR disruption?

Botley Road closure update

Replacing the bridge over Botley Road to facilitate a new platform, western entrance and road improvements is an incredibly complex project, which needs to be completed by the end of 2024 in time for the start of East West Rail services.

With it not only being vital for local transport provision, there are also multiple key utility services connecting to west of the city running both beneath the road and over the top of the bridge. So there are a number of significant challenges to overcome before work on the bridge can start.

We are working with partners to refine our plans for the delivery of the works to enhance the station and do not now need to start the full closure of Botley Road in January.

Part of this review is looking at how to reduce the impact of our work on the local community. Further details will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Now reported by Network Rail that Botley Road will be closed from 11th April until October.

29 July to 6 August 2023 – Track work and prep work for new platform – rail services impacted. Alternative travel arrangements and advice will be publicised in advance

August 2024 – Four-day rail closure for bridge replacement.

Yep, due to be demolished any day now

*From Saturday 29 July until the early hours of Monday 7 August Network Rail will be working to upgrade the track just north of Oxford Station - installing new high speed crossovers. To the south of the station,  Osney Lane footbridge will be modified, moving one of the piers to make way for track layout changes. Work will also be carried out to adjust the coping stones on platforms inside the station.

Which of the piers are to be moved and where to?  None of them seem to be intruding far into operational railway land at the moment.

I think the dip under the existing bridge is drained by a pump and if that's always been the case it's a shame that exactly what was the pump provision in the early days of the line will be something lost to time.

Ah, a map, surveyed 1876, and next to the bridge, a 'Pump room'.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/231278895

The pump room persists on later 25" mapping, though it might have shrunk. Works to replace the Botley Road rail bridge will expose and remove elements of these early installations.

Seems weird that they discovered new problems as they went along. I mean, it's all above ground and easily inspectable before starting, no?

-> actually I've just seen that the problem was that they discovered an arch underground......

Given that the builders gave the dip beneath Botley rail bridge a brick invert presumably to hold back the groundwater, and the dip still originally needed a steam-powered pump to drain it, it's surprising in a way that the presence of the brick invert faded from memory to the extent that it had to be rediscovered.

The project to replace Botley Road Bridge seems to have gone very quiet.

According to NR the bridge is due to be replaced between July 27 and July 31st 2024, and that is less than 3 weeks away. https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/western/oxfordshire/botley-road-bridge-replacement/ (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/western/oxfordshire/botley-road-bridge-replacement/)

I have seen no advertising around replacement bus services and GWR seem to be running a normal train service and there is no mention of engineering works between those dates on their website. https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering (https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering).

So can we assume that this project is running late? And if it is has anyone seen any mention of alternative dates? 

And what is the impact on the opening of Botley Road which is supposed to happen in October 2024?

It does seem that the actual bridge replacement is going in over the weekend, as trains appear to run again from Monday in a southbound direction.

The Oxford-Banbury RRS is to do with other unconnected works in the Aynho junction area as there is a total block between Banbury & Bicester Village.

The Oxford-Banbury RRS is to do with other unconnected works in the Aynho junction area as there is a total block between Banbury & Bicester Village.

There's plenty of mention of it on that GWR page including:

Oxford area - Saturday 27th to Wednesday 31st July
Track renewal work will affect train services between Oxford and Banbury, plus trains between Oxford and Didcot Parkway on the weekend of 27/28 July.

Replacement buses are planned between:

    Oxford and Banbury (on all dates)
    Oxford and Didcot Parkway (weekend of 27/28 July only)

In addition all the replacement/amended services are loaded into the journey planners and realtimetrains.

No one is saying that the extra platform will be completed/operational. Just that the bridge is swapped out & replaced & the lines currently present put back (with a TSO presumably?)

Other bridges have been done with a Friday night - Monday morning closure.

Botley Road bridge installation postponed

You will no doubt be disappointed to learn that we have had to postpone the replacement of Botley Road railway bridge that was planned for the end of July.

As you're probably aware, we’ve been working to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, to make the necessary space for the new bridge layout.

Working on this outdated maze of pipes and cables spread out below the highway, in a severely constrained space, with poor ground conditions and high water levels, has presented significant engineering challenges.

Unfortunately, despite concerted effort by all organisations involved, the work can’t be completed in time to tie in with our planned closure of the railway at the end of this month...

Oxford’s major rail and road improvement project is progressing but more time is needed before Botley Road can reopen

Network Rail has confirmed that significant progress is being made on the multi-million-pound programme to upgrade Oxford Station, enhance the railway infrastructure in the area and improve the local transport network, however more time is required to complete the highly complex utility diversion works including mains water and sewer pipes under Botley Road.

The replacement of the railway bridge, which was scheduled to take place at end of this month, has been postponed as, despite concerted effort by all organisations involved, the work to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, cannot be completed in time. Unfortunately as a result Botley Road, which has been closed under the rail bridge since April 2023, will not now reopen in October as planned. Network Rail and its contractor, Kier, are working with the local authorities to agree the best way forward to complete the project and minimise impact on the city.

Anna Holbrook, industry programme director at Network Rail said: “Although our work is progressing well on most aspects of this major programme, including the construction of the new platform on the western side of the station, the bridge replacement has unfortunately had to be postponed as the work to divert the complex layout of utility pipes and cables under the road, including the sewer system, will not be ready in time. We have informed the councils that Botley Road will not now be able to be reopened in October.  We know how important Botley Road is to Oxford and apologise to local residents and businesses for the ongoing inconvenience. We are working out the best way forward and will continue to engage with the local community as our plans develop.”

Kier and the 11 different utility providers involved continue to make progress on diverting the large number of pipes and cables, including the water main and sewer, which need to be completed before the bridge can be replaced. Working on this outdated maze of pipes and cables spread out below the highway, in a severely constrained space, with poor ground conditions and significant water levels, continues to make this work very challenging.

Once fully complete, the upgrades will result in a bigger and better station, more rail services for passengers and an improved road network near Oxford station with safer junctions, and more space for cyclists and pedestrians through the addition of a four-metre cycle/footway on each side of the main road.

The project to replace Botley Road Bridge seems to have gone very quiet.

According to NR the bridge is due to be replaced between July 27 and July 31st 2024, and that is less than 3 weeks away. https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/western/oxfordshire/botley-road-bridge-replacement/ (https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/western/oxfordshire/botley-road-bridge-replacement/)

I have seen no advertising around replacement bus services and GWR seem to be running a normal train service and there is no mention of engineering works between those dates on their website. https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering (https://www.gwr.com/travel-information/travel-updates/planned-engineering).

So can we assume that this project is running late? And if it is has anyone seen any mention of alternative dates? 

And what is the impact on the opening of Botley Road which is supposed to happen in October 2024?

Lack of records for utilities under a road is hardly the fault of network Rail though, is it? Surely the highway authority is at fault here?

I don't imagine NR, Kier, and these utilities companies are still all best friends.

Statement in response to Network Rail's announcement about Botley Road
Botley Road 11 July 2024

Oxfordshire County Council is extremely frustrated that Network Rail is postponing the replacement of Botley railway bridge at the end of this month and is unable to reopen Botley Road in October as a result. The council is in discussion with Network Rail to understand the implications of this.

Residents and businesses have shown incredible patience with more than a year of disruption to their lives because of this project, which has already had its timetable altered twice before and seen its closure dates extended. We have expressed our deep dissatisfaction to Network Rail and to the Department for Transport about this.

The launch of the council’s traffic filters trial planned to start in November is now in question, with various options being considered as a result. The trial aims to tackle Oxford’s chronic congestion problems and dramatically improve bus journey times. We are calling on and working with Network Rail to find an acceptable solution to this situation quickly.

The council remains incredibly supportive of improvements to the rail station for Oxford with improved capacity for passengers and freight, which is vital for the development of projects such as East West Rail.

In the meantime, we will continue to do all we can to work with partners to minimise the impact on the rest of the road network.

Note what Network Rail said about "Kier and the 11 different utility providers involved". I can't imagine how there are as many as eleven, even if half of them are fibre operators, but I'm not surprised that coordinating them is difficult. It's probably more difficult than it should be.

You can imagine the meeting (live or Teams) which goes "we've found an old pipe that is is our way, so our work has to be changed and will take a bit longer" - "oh, that means we will have to replan our work,  and then schedule a new time (much later) to do that" - "ah, if we have to delay our work that means ..." etc. etc.

The time allowed looks long enough to an outsider, and given the constraints on booking rail closures NR must have allowed as long as they though it could possibly take plus a bit on top. I don't imagine NR, Kier, and these utilities companies are still all best friends.

Another mess caused by the blind ideological insistence on competition in the provision of public services to solve a problem created by privatisation.  

Are the pre Nationalisation public services pipes and cables exempt?  I suspect there are quite a few pipes and cables dating back before WW2, which may be abandoned and the ownership is unknown and proving they are abandoned and therefore safe to cut may be a challenge 

No but at least there were only 4 possible utility operators (Water Authority, Post office Telephones, Electricity Board, Gas Board) to deal with not 11!