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

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From This is Oxfordshire:

Sadness as Wolvercote trees go to improve rail links



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.^

[JayMac]

From the Oxford Mail:

Sgt Stephen Reay with bike owner Georgia Cole

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

British Transport Police (BTP^▸ (British Transport Police)) 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.^

[swrural]

I was surprised at this.  I would have thought Oxford was the Amsterdam of urban nous where cycling security was concerned.  I lost three bikes in AMS but we used to buy them for ^50 each in those days from the junkies, who of course stole them in the first place.   

[Chris from Nailsea]

A further, geographically related, update from the Oxford Mail:

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.^

[IanL]

Having spent a fair fraction of the evenings for the last 12 years waiting on the exposed platform 2 at Oxford glad to see finally something is being done about it. A new waiting shelter has appeared together with additional seats and by there markings on the tarmac, a second new shelter is planned. That will make a grand total  three shelters and many more seats along P2 beyond the footbridge and station canopy where standard class passengers have to wait for HST^▸ (High Speed Train) length trains (unless it is in reverse formation).

[IndustryInsider]

Hopefully as part of the enhancements planned, when the extra through platform is built, the canopy will extend much further down the platform than it does now.

[lordgoata]

There is also a new shelter at Maidenhead, and at Twyford.

[Oxman]

Network Rail press release announces appointment of "master planners" to develop options for the station and its environs.

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/7439/Masterplanners-appointed-for-the-proposed-redevelopment-of-Oxford-station

Interestingly, a joint project with the County and City Councils.

"Aedas will look at the wider station area including the forecourt and transport interchange, Becket Street car park, Roger Dudman Way and the Botley Road bridge area. They will also consider how proposed options would link in with the county council's Frideswide Square development."

[ellendune]

The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) final determination for PR13 Page 918 includes funding for:

"Oxford station area capacity and enlargement"

[DidcotPunter]

The ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) final determination for PR13 Page 918 includes funding for:

"Oxford station area capacity and enlargement"

Some more detail on thisisoxfordshire

http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/10784375.It_s_full_steam_ahead_for___70m_revamp_of_Oxford_rail_station/

 THE ^70m transformation of Oxford railway station will now go ahead after Government officials finally approved the plan.

The scheme, which has been in the pipeline for years in an effort to free up the bottlenecked route, has now been given permission by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

It will see the Botley Road bridge replaced and an extra platform built to accommodate more services using the new link to London Marylebone and Milton Keynes via Bicester.

The ^500m East West Rail project, which will connect Reading to Bedford via Oxford, has also been approved by the ORR as part of the same list of projects the regulator said Network Rail must deliver in the next five years.

[IanL]

I hope they do something about the narrow platforms where they pass the lifts and stairs to the bridge, too often I see an entire High Speed Train (HST^▸ (High Speed Train)) of passengers trying to pass this narrow section on the way to the exit, when the dispatch team are also yelling to stay behind the yellow line so they can see to get the train to clear the platform it just makes matters worse.


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[ellendune]

Some further news last month in the Oxford Mail

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^▸ (London Midland Scottish - 1923 to 1948)^s Rewley Road station.

[ellendune]

More news in Network Rail's delivery plan http://www.networkrail.co.uk/cp5-delivery-plan/cp5-enhancements-delivery-plan.pdf

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.

It says Phase 1 complete by December 2016 and Phase 2 by December 2018

[ChrisB]

Attended a presentation by two Network Rail guys last night put on by the local branch of IMechE....we got Richard McCulloch -Principal Sponsor for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.)) & Electrification project plus Ben Stevens, sponsor for the Oxford Resignalling project....

Some notes....

Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains testing on ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) Feb15, GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) (RDG^‡(resolve)-DID^» (Didcot Parkway - next trains)) Aug/Sep15
Class 800 will be bi-mode units, Class 801 all-electric units - according to Richard, the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) *still* haven't firmed up the mix!
Pantographs can be raised / lowered while at speed

Electrification - RDG-DID in time for the testing above
Remaining track to OXF^» (Oxford - next trains)/BSK^▸ (Brake Standard Corridor (carriage)) (EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) to run)/Newbury & BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) Dec16
BPW/Bath & BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) May17
Cardiff Dec17
Swansea May18
164 structures in total (bridges/tunnels/station awnings) need clearance work

Oxford resignalling Stage 1 complete by Dec16, then transferred to Didcot signalling centre by Mar17
Stage 2 (E/West Rail Oxford North junction doubled too) complete Dec18
This includes extra through Down platform (so an island platform)
Platform renumbering (from the East, so Up through platform =3, down throughs = 4&5
Current platform 3 to 6car length, new platform 4 (Chiltern) only 5car (will be plat 1&2 after renumbering)
New Botley Road Bridge with 4.8m height clearance from road, with 3 lane road plus a cycle lane and footway both sides of road!

I'll copy the Intercity Express Programme (IEP)/electrification info to the appropriate thread
Passive provision for South Bay platform on the Up side
New station Masterplan going out to competition amongst architects


Edit: VickiS - Clarifying Acronym

[IndustryInsider]

Thanks for posting those details, Chris.  My diagrams further up the page remain pretty accurate.