THERE are fears the £75m overhaul of Oxford Railway station may not take place for almost a decade.

Project leaders said there were concerns the scheme could be sidelined after the Government announced a “pause” of billion-pound rail upgrades elsewhere in the country.

Both the electrification of the Midland mainline and the Transpennine route were among those delayed, with the chief executive of Network Rail admitting the works programme was too ambitious.

The electrification of the Great Western Mainline, including its Oxford branch, will not be affected.

But senior figures at Oxford City Council said there were now concerns other projects in the pipeline, such as the long-awaited upgrade of the city’s main station, would be pushed back.

Network Rail is a year into its current five-year ‘control period’ – a schedule of works – and has said the station overhaul and extra tracks between Oxford and Didcot could be part of the next funding period for 2019-24.

But before this can happen, the Botley Road railway bridge must be widened – work Network Rail repeatedly insisted would be finished by December 2018.

But the rail infrastructure firm has now admitted it cannot rule out delays, after the Government ordered a review of all rail schemes planned for the next five years.

Bob Price, Oxford City Council leader, said Network Rail could decide to carry out the bridge works in the next control period, raising the prospect the station redevelopment might not start until 2024.

He said: “We are pressuring Network Rail to make sure the [bridge] project stays in the current control period.

“Because of their budget concerns they are considering putting it into a later control period.

“Our plan was for the rail bridge to be done by Christmas 2018 and then the station could be part of that project.

“From our point of view a delay would be very worrying, because it makes it difficult to be confident the redevelopment is going to happen.

“It also means we won’t get the changes on the Botley Road bridge to tie in with improvements at Frideswide Square.

“It is extremely disappointing and creates uncertainty.”

David Edwards, city council executive director (regeneration and housing) said months of negotiations with Network Rail and the Department for Transport had not yet yielded any firm commitments on when the scheme might begin.

He said: “There is a concern it could be delayed and we still need to get funding agreements for all aspects of the project.

“We are gradually moving forward, but there is now going to be another review of rail programmes. We don’t know where Oxford will sit in that.”

The improvements at the bridge and Oxford Station, including the addition of more tracks and a third platform, are part of plans to improve capacity.

As previously reported, Network Rail has predicted the Oxford North Junction – a rail junction near the Trap Grounds – will be at maximum capacity by 2019, as will the station.

The long-awaited redevelopment scheme would include a new bus terminal, hotel, shops and a multi-storey car park off Becket Street and rail bosses have said it could make the city a major ‘rail interchange’.

Under the plans, the station building would be demolished and replaced by a three-storey building.

But Network Rail spokeswoman Victoria Bradley confirmed that delays to the bridge works could not be ruled out.

She added: “The work we have planned over the next few years will be subject to a review over the summer.

“We will report on the findings of this review in the autumn.”