Bicester to crowdfund to keep London Road Crossing open

A community is launching an initiative to fund an underpass at a level crossing set for closure as the fight to keep it open continues.

The development of East West Rail, linking Oxford with Cambridge via Milton Keynes and Bedford, will mean the closure of Bicester London Road level crossing due to an increase in the frequency of trains passing through it, prompting the need to find alternative routes for motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.

There are fears that closing the crossing to vehicles would cut the town in two and even result in town centre businesses closing.

In November, East West Railway Company published its latest proposals, which revealed updated designs for both an underpass proposal and an alternative footbridge solution at the crossing.

East West Rail said that an underpass - the design for which includes a single-lane road that could be used by vehicles alongside a protected active travel corridor for pedestrians and cyclists - was the more popular of the two options.

However, this would be subject to securing third-party funding contributions.

Local campaigner of more than a decade and chair of the Langford Village Community Association, Carole Hetherington, said the community will crowdfund in 2026 to raise money for the underpass.

She told this newspaper: "We want to show the Treasury that the people of Bicester are serious about the need for the underpass for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to keep traffic flowing along London Road, when the crossing closes."

In June, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, Calum Miller, formally presented a petition signed by more than 4,500 residents calling for a fully accessible London Road level crossing in Bicester in the House of Commons.

Ms Hetherington said in 2026, the community is hoping to match the amount of signatures in one-pound donations from Bicester residents through the initiative 'Donate a pound to go Underground'.

She added: "We want to show the treasury, that we have had to crowdfund to raise money, which, in the total cost of the Oxford to Cambridge line, the cost of the underpass, is a small amount of money.

"We believe they should fully fund the underpass."

The strength in feeling was made clear by Bicester residents in 2025 as the town came together to fight to keep the crossing open.

In July, dozens of locals - including wheelchair users, parents with prams, cyclists and others - as well as key campaigners joined a rally at London Road Crossing with signs and banners.

The protest followed the Government’s official response to a public petition calling for an underpass, in which the Department for Transport confirmed that no final decision has been made on the future of the crossing.

And in November, more than 100 Bicester businesses and market traders signed a joint letter to the Treasury urging ministers to back an underpass at London Road.

Reflecting on the past year, Ms Hetherington said: "The remaining frustration has been not getting the full funding from the Treasury.

"This is especially frustrating as the Department of Transport and East West Rail agree that the underpass for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, is the right solution for Bicester.

"The campaign results this year have been amazing, we have succeeded in moving the department of Transport and East West Rail to being totally behind an underpass for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists for London Road.

"That is a fantastic achievement, I am so proud of Bicester residents for getting behind the campaign and recognising that we need to keep access along London Road as we all know and experience the chaos that results around town when London Road has been closed.

"Our heartfelt thanks must also go to our local MP Calum Miller who has championed the campaign and done amazing work in Parliament on our behalf.

"We would never have got this far without him."

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We recognise the importance of this crossing in the town.

"East West Rail Co has put forward options for this crossing and will continue to consult on a final proposal next year

Ooh, I doubt it! For one thing, my Mum's cousin Gwen was 90 when she died in the house she was born in in Ilford.

An underpass "is definitely cheaper" than a bridge. Really? I would have thought tunnelling would be more expensive than building a bridge. Anyway, from Bob-Blakey's post above, it sounds like the current crossing will cope just fine, being open for 50 minutes every hour, not closed.

From The BBC


Hyperbole writ large! In the current weekday timetable the number of TPH (RTT data) using the London Road level crossing (LC) for each hour, starting at 0000, is 2,0,(2),(1),(1),3+(1),4+(1),4,6,5,4,4,4,3,5,4,3,3,4+(1),4,4,3,5,3 (Note: numbers in brackets indicate 'On Request' services which may not run). In some cases the train timings at BIT indicate that two services would pass over the LC at essentially the same time so in the hour 0800-0900, which has the maximum number of services, I guess the crossing would be closed to road traffic for around 10 minutes out of 60 (17%). When the new EWR services are introduced, NR state an additional 2 TPH, and possibly with a bit of timetable tweaking the LC closure time might be restricted to no more than a maximum of 20%.

Hardly being 'cut off completely' and in any case, as mentioned in the BBC report, the EWR team have already published a list of 6 options for dealing with this issue. Worst case scenario - permanent closure of the LC with traffic diverted via the A41 - increases the journey time between the two significant junctions on London Road nearest to each side of the LC from 1 minute to 7 and there are a couple of obvious options for small sections of new road to reduce this to 4-5 minutes.

88 years living in the same house.  That can’t be far off the record!

88 years living in the same house.  That can’t be far off the record!

Residents in a town are calling for an update on how a new train route will impact a busy level crossing.

East-West Rail is designed to connect communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.

But Bicester residents near the London Road level crossing are worried a higher frequency of trains means they will be "cut off completely" from the rest of town.

East-West Rail Company (EWR) said an update on the line will come in May.

When East-West Rail is completed, more trains will run across the London Road level crossing in Bicester.

Oxfordshire County Council has previously said that the new line will mean the crossing will be closed for about 50 minutes every hour during peak times.

A resident who has lived in one of the houses next to the crossing for 88 years said she is worried they will be cut off due to the wait time to cross the railway.

"It's unbelievable," she told the BBC on Tuesday. "We're just going to be cut off completely."

Bridges and underpasses have been suggested to stop splitting Bicester in two but she said "if they built a tunnel, these houses would just collapse" as she said they don't have sturdy foundations.

But Paul Troop from the Bicester Bike Users Group said an underpass would be better than a bridge as "it is definitely cheaper".

Carole Hetherington, chair of Langford Village Community Association said: "We want to hear some concrete plans. I understand they have come up with some sort of solution, but they are not sharing that information.

"Everybody has said it has just gone on for so long without any viable solutions and we do need to see what EWR are suggesting."

EWR has said: "You may have seen that [the] Spring Budget mentioned a route update announcement (Bedford to Cambridge) in May.

"We're expecting this will also include updates for other sections of the line, including the London Road level crossing and feedback on the 2021 public consultation."