WORK to electrify the railway into Oxford has been set back four years, throwing the redevelopment of the city’s station into doubt.

Network Rail – the firm that manages Britain’s rail infrastructure – last night said it was now aiming to finish electrification of tracks between Didcot and Oxford by 2019, with further electrification to Bletchley not expected to begin until 2020 at the earliest.

The £2.8bn scheme will eventually mean faster trains with more capacity.

But the delays could also derail the £75m overhaul of Oxford Railway Station, which it was hoped would begin before the end of the decade.

Council leaders and transport groups said it was “a big disappointment” that would leave passengers in Oxfordshire waiting longer for better services.

A spokesman for Network Rail told the Oxford Mail: “It is too early to give details about when the projects will be delivered, because we will have to sit down with all our partners in Oxfordshire and determine what the plan for Oxford now looks like.

“That is not to say we do not acknowledge this will come as a disappointment to people, but we think it is the right decision in terms of the way the project needs to be structured.

“The timings have changed, but everything will still be done and Oxford remains an incredibly important part of the network.”

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said: “This is a big disappointment because, as far as the station is concerned, this will mean significant delays to the project.

“Rather than having it completed by the early 2020s, we will instead be looking at beginning a new programme of disruption by that time.

“We had been given the expectation that this would be a priority project and it was key to the regeneration of the area.”

Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, added: “It is clearly important to make sure these schemes get delivered properly and sensibly and we need to work with Network Rail rather than against it.

“But I will be making sure it is aware of the disappointment of the residents of Oxfordshire.

“More reliable and efficient train services mean fewer people will use their cars and that means less congestion, which is really important for the county’s plans.”

The news emerged in a major review of Network Rail’s projects carried out by chairman Sir Peter Hendy, who was parachuted in by the Government earlier this year to help rein-in massive overspends and lengthy delays.

The firm has prioritised the electrification of the Great Western Mainline between London Paddington and Cardiff, but said the section branching off to Oxford would be done later.

It said this was for “engineering reasons”, such as heavy machinery already being stationed in other areas, work on signalling and tracks already taking place around Oxford, and flood prevention works set to be carried out at Hinksey.

Engineers would still aim to complete electrification between Didcot and Oxford within “the back-end of control period 5” – which covers 2015-19 – the firm’s spokesman said.

But it could not say how this would impact on the station redevelopment, originally mooted to begin with the replacement of the Botley Road railway bridge at the end of 2018.

Proposals for the project were revealed in August 2014, but since then no further plans have emerged and senior figures are yet to confirm how it will be funded.

The news follows a damning report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee last week, which said Network Rail had “lost its grip” on managing major projects.

The firm’s plans for electrification – which include the tracks between Oxford and Didcot – are reported to have risen in cost from £1.6bn to as much as £2.8bn in just one year.