THE £67m project to reinstate double track on the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester enters its final phase on Saturday.

The line will close between Charlbury and Worcester as Network Rail and its Oxford-based principal contractor Amey start a two-week programme of work to commission 16 miles of new track and digital signals between Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire and Evesham in Worcestershire.

The aim of the work is to improve punctuality of trains on the line, which was so bad in early 2008 that Mike Carroll, then train operator First Great Western’s top regional manager, told Charlbury commuters the service they were getting was “unacceptable”, with just 64 per cent of trains running on time.

The first four miles of reinstated double track opened between Charlbury and Ascott-under-Wychwood in June.

From Monday, August 15, trains will be able to run beyond Charlbury to Moreton-in-Marsh, once track alterations there are complete, but the section to Evesham and Worcester will not reopen until the following Monday, August 22, when the double track will be ready.

Replacement bus services will be in operation to maintain connections for passengers using stations on the sections of the line that will be closed.

First Great Western will launch an improved timetable on the line on Monday, September 12.

Several extra trains will be serving stations between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh, but there will be just one extra train each way on weekdays to Worcestershire.

See the First Great Western and Network Rail websites for more information.