CALLS were last night made for work to start earlier on a new Oxford railway station after figures showed a huge rise in rail passengers across the county.

The number of passengers using Oxford Station has more than doubled since 1998.

But its infrastructure and buildings have barely changed since its most recent rebuild in 1990.

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.

There were also seven per cent more passengers than in 2010-2011, an additional 429,000 beginning or ending their journey at the station.

Hugh Jaeger, of Railfuture Thames Valley, said: “It was a very adequate station but it is not any more. We have been overtaken by success.”

“We have rising petrol prices and for younger people there is the rising cost of motor insurance.

“Modern IT is making public transport more attractive, on the train you can be on your smart phone, tabet, laptop, you can be watching a film, using social media, you can be working.

“Oxford is also a difficult city to get into by car.”

There were also huge increases in custom at Bicester North and Bicester Town stations, which saw increased jumps of 321 per cent and 471 per cent respectively since 1997-98.

In the past year alone there was a 10 per cent increase at Bicester North and a 35 per cent rise at Bicester Town.

That means a combined total of 1,568,790 passengers used the two stations in 2011-2012, reflecting the town’s growth and ever-increasing numbers of shoppers travelling to Bicester Village.

Chris Bates, the chairman of the Cherwell Rail Users Group, said: “It’s good news, onwards and upwards for public transport.

“I think it’s purely the cost of fuel, and the enlargement of Bicester Village, so they will be attracting more people.”

He believed the train operators were coping well with the increased passenger numbers, but new trains would be needed in the future.

Car park extensions are being built at Banbury and Hanborough to help deal with increased passenger numbers there and an extension has just opened at Radley, while Didcot Parkway station is seeing forecourt improvements.

About £70m has been set aside for the expansion of Oxford station, including extra platforms, by 2019.

Over that period, the Great Western Main Line is to be electrified, with new trains operating Oxford to London services.

Chiltern Railways hopes to create a second Oxford-London link via Bicester and the East-West rail link will connect Oxford and Bicester with Milton Keynes and Bedford.

It is understood a consultant to draw up a masterplan for Oxford station’s development has been appointed by Network Rail and an announcement is expected in the next few days.

Network Rail spokesman Sam Kelly said the number of passengers using the Great Western main line, including services to Oxford and the Cotswold Line through West Oxfordshire, was now more than 50 million a year, and followed a decade in which passenger numbers grew by 45 per cent.

She said: “Network Rail and rail industry partners will deliver a programme of electrification, signalling upgrades and new, longer trains over the 2014-19 period.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for transport, Rodney Rose, said he believed that if a scheme for improvements for the station had been developed in the past few years, it would not have included everything that was needed to meet future needs, in particular a new, wider, Botley Road bridge.

He said: “I’m more prepared to wait until we get the right scheme rather than driving in on a whim to do something that may not stand the test of time.”

First Great Western spokesman James Davies said the company had provided 4,500 extra rush-hour seats a day in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley since 2005.

He said: “We are keen to work with Oxfordshire County Council, Network Rail and partners to develop Oxford station to ensure that it’s not only fit for today’s usage, but also fit for the future.”

Chad Collins, head of stations at Chiltern Railways, put the increases in traffic at the Bicester stations and elsewhere on the Chiltern Line, including Banbury and Haddenham & Thame Parkway stations, down to better parking facilities, faster trains and more services.

Bicester Village community relations director Miranda Markham said: “Bicester Village has worked in partnership with Chiltern Railways for more than a decade.

“Rail travel continues to be the chosen mode of transport for many customers and, in particular, international tourists, who value its speed and convenience.”