Rail link could be worth £38m a year (From Oxford Mail)
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Rail link could be worth £38m a year
10:00am Friday 12th August 2011 in News
THE proposed East-West Rail link, connecting Oxford and Bicester with Milton Keynes and Bedford, could generate more than £38m a year for the UK economy, according to a new study.
Forecasters from Oxford Economics, based in St Aldate’s, have said there is a strong business case for the £178m project, which would slash travelling times between communities along the route.
Their report, called East West Rail: The Economic Case for Investment, looked at the benefits that would flow from running passenger trains linking Reading, Didcot, Oxford and Bicester to Milton Keynes and Bedford and connecting High Wycombe and Aylesbury with Milton Keynes.
Neil Gibson, the chairman of the East-West Rail Consortium and strategic director for Buckinghamshire County Council, said: “Oxford Economics has confirmed what we have been saying to ministers and Whitehall officials – that investment in East-West Rail is a great deal for the taxpayer, for business, the public and for supporting economic growth.”
The consortium is campaigning for the project to be included in the Government’s 2014-19 railway investment programme, which will be published in July next year.
For more details, see eastwestrail.org.uk
Comments(2)
cweb
says...
4:29pm Fri 12 Aug 11
Reopening the Witney route would be trickier since the trackbed has been taken over between the Cotswold line and the A40, and by the B449/industrial estates south of Eynsham.
Andrew:Oxford says...
1:47pm Fri 12 Aug 11
Imagine being able to hop on a brisk local service to Milton Keynes and change onto a fast Virgin to the Lake District & Beyond. Perhaps reaching Scotland in just over 4 hours.
There is a massive downside to this for Oxford City Council though...
For every 200 drivers who choose to take a fast reliable rail service directly into the heart of Oxford instead of driving in and parking in the Westgate, Worcster Street, Oxpens or Gloucester Green - they'll lose around £1M in income.
If the route were to reopen between Witney & Oxford and Stratford & Oxford - along with the proposed GoCo service between the SW & the West Midlands via Oxford (with potential new station at Wantage Parkway)- 1000s of cars might stop entering this fair city gaining the citizens of Oxford a healthier environment but losing it £10M in parking fees and fines.