Oxfordshire £20m rail investment for 'countywide network'

Oxfordshire County Council this week gave the green light to a £10 million investment in rail schemes and research studies paid for by business rates collected in the county's enterprise zones.
This includes the formalising of a £5 million spend on the Cowley Branch Line – linking Oxford city centre with Cowley and Littlemore.

(Image: Campaign for Cowley Branch Line)

The council's cabinet also approved the spending 'in principle' of £10 million it had been given to mitigate the impact of East West Rail.

This will be spent on an underpass at the London Road in Bicester - a move which follows years of campaigning as the rail route linking Oxford and Cambridge was set to see the crossing close.

The approvals followed recommendations from a council report into OxRAIL 2040, which outlines the authority's "ambitions for the future of the railway in Oxfordshire, establishing a bold vision for rail as a central component of a fully integrated, world-class sustainable transport network and prescribes the improvements, initiatives and investment required to make this vision a reality".

County transport boss, Gareth Epps, has celebrated the report and approvals as a groundbreaking moment and described his pride at the proposals moving forward.

(Image: Isabella Harris/NQ)

He said: "This is absolutely countywide, including the Cowley Branch Line."

Mr Epps added: "Now a certain obstacle has been overcome - at last we can make sure that we get the station that Oxford finally deserves, which arguably has never really had in the history of our railways.

"It is going to grow exponentially as Oxford grows as a visitor attraction, the number of passengers doubling, possibly tripling in the coming years.

"And it's going to need to be a lot bigger to cope with that."

The approvals include spending £500,000 on an Oxford Station Passenger Improvement Plan, £550,000 on a Didcot Parkway study, £1 million on making a business case for a new station at Begbroke, £100,000 on an Oxfordshire Metro study, £80,000 on a Hanborough Station parking study, £50,000 each on Henley and Culham station studies, and £40,000 on a Western Rail Link to Heathrow study.

The funding will also see improvements move forward at Didcot Parkway and Cholsey Station.

Following the meeting, Calum Miller MP, for Bicester and Woodstock, called the approved funding for the London Road underpass a "victory for residents, businesses and crucial local campaigners who refused to give up on this vital route".

Lib Dems celebrate funding the Bicester underpass (Image: Calum Miller MP/Facebook)

He said: "Now I’ll keep pressing the Government and East West Rail to get it built and deliver on this historic agreement."

Summing up the plans, county council leader Tim Bearder (Lib Dem) said: "It's fair to say we have one of the best rail operations, outside of a mayoral authority, in the country."

But county opposition leader Liam Walker (Conservative) has called for caution over the claim "after years of misery" caused by rail works and the early stages of much of the scheme.

(Image: Supplied)

He said: "I fully support investment in improving Oxfordshire’s rail infrastructure, but I think residents and businesses who have endured years of disruption will be raising their eyebrows at the suggestion that we have one of the best rail operations in the country.

 "After years of misery caused by the Botley Road closure, continued delays and rising costs at Oxford Station, and the ongoing frustrations surrounding the Bicester underpass, I think we need a little less backslapping and a lot more focus on actually delivering these projects.

(Image: Frank Dumbleton)

 "I welcome the funding for a feasibility study into expanding car parking at Hanborough Station, something I have been pushing for over several years.

"However, we must make sure we don't get bogged down in study after study, spending more money on reports while residents are left waiting for improvements that never materialise.

"We need to turn these plans into action.

“There are also legitimate questions about the use of developer contributions to support projects such as the Cowley Branch Line when communities across Oxfordshire are still waiting for essential infrastructure promised alongside new housing.

"Ambition for our railways is welcome, but success should be measured by completed projects, improved services and the experience of passengers and residents, not by how many reports are written and politicians congratulating themselves in a meeting.”

Independent Oxford Alliance county and city councillor David Henwood said: "If the councillor feels he is delivering one of the best rail operations in the country, I didn't know the bar was set so low.

"Cllr Bearder pats himself on the back so hard he sounds like a hollow drum — although, judging by the results on the ground, his arms aren’t getting any longer.”

He added: "When residents have endured the disruption associated with the Botley Road closure, faced uncertainty over delayed Oxford Station works and heard about years of frustration over the Bicester underpass, it is understandable that they may question repeated assertions of success.

"These are not abstract transport policy issues; they affect people's daily lives, businesses and ability to get around."

(Image: Oxford Mail)

Mr Henwood said he supports "improving rail connectivity across Oxfordshire, including the potential benefits of reopening the Cowley Branch Line to passengers", but said it "must be affordable, accessible and deliver genuine value for money" with "proper scrutiny" on the spending of enterprise and developer funding.

He said: "Ultimately, Cllr Bearder will be judged by his results, not his rhetoric.

"Teachers trying to get to school, hospital patients struggling to access essential appointments, and businesses trying to keep moving all deserve a transport system that works for them.

"Against that real-world test, his record on Oxford’s transport has so far been deeply disappointing."

The OxRAIL 2040 plan is part of a "long-term approach to delivering rail projects," and the authority hopes that it will enable "rail to become the backbone of a world-class, integrated, accessible and sustainable transport network, supporting economic growth, housing delivery, decarbonisation and place-shaping across Oxfordshire, through until 2040".

Mr Bearder was contacted for comment.