Oxford station - facilities, improvements, parking, incidents and events - merged posts

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

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.

[IndustryInsider]

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

I was a little surprised to hear that they were being replaced so soon. Is twenty years really the average life-span of a lift? There was also quite a delay - between 1 and 2 years I think - between the footbridge opening and the lifts finally being installed. I think BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) had committed to providing lifts, but in a less enlightened age, were less than keen to keep their promise!

As Will says the old dank smelly subway is now sealed off with metal covers on the platforms, but I think it still serves a useful role carrying electrical cables.

[Tim]

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.

FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s website report that exit/entrance will be available from platform 2 to the road behind the station for those passengers requiring it. 

[ChrisB]

Yes, I know - but nothing about pick up / set down....

Hopefully for not long though....

[willc]

But in all honesty Chris, I don't think there's a problem with anyone rolling up at the back of platform 2 and parking for a while to drop off and pick up - lots of people do it in the mornings and evenings to avoid having to try to drive round to the main entrance.

And I don't think anyone has a clue about who is responsible for enforcing whatever restrictions there are in Roger Dudman Way, which leads a twilight zone existence as part railway access to platform 2 and the BTP^▸ (British Transport Police) office and catering stores that side, and part public access to Turbo Ted's nursery and the university accommodation on former railway land beyond that, plus being part of a cycle route to Jericho.

There are various notices dating back to BR^▸ (British Rail(ways)) days about enforcement of waiting restrictions but none I can see indicating what such restrictions may be, nor have I ever seen any sign that FGW^▸ (First Great Western) or Network Rail is employing clampers there.

An old Oxford Mail report on the bizarre nature of Roger Dudman Way is here http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/1663603.___Strangest____city_street_needs_major_clean_up/

I'm not sure that they have actually made much progress towards achieving the things councillor Pressel wanted back in 2007.

[ChrisB]

I'm concerned that space is reserved for the less mobiloe and not taken up by lazy commuters....

[willc]

Always seem to be spaces there, as I say most are simply dropping off and picking up, so not hanging around.

Anyway, at the rate the contractors are going, the work may not take until March. They were cutting up the remains of the lifts simultaneously in both shafts gone 6pm tonight.

[Andy]

Can't they be "re-cycled" in some way? 

[willc]

The new footbridge lifts have been use for the past few days.

[willc]

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

[IndustryInsider]

You don't see many 3-car trains going to Bicester now - and look at all those litter bins... 

[devon_metro]

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

I too noticed that yesterday, was interested to see how new it is!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

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

[paul7575]

The picture on the Network rail site shows that the bridge will be split, with a paid side, and a public side. Looks very much like steps from the carpark giving access through a barrier line - makes sense in that regular pax such as season ticket holders joining/leaving trains in the new bay won't ever have to visit the main station at all...

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/Resource-Library/New-platform-and-footbridge-at-Oxford-station-b3f.aspx

Paul

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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."