Funding granted for study into two new stations on restored Oxfordshire railway

SLC Rail has been appointed to deliver design studies for two new train stations within the proposal to reopen the Cowley Branch line in Oxfordshire to passenger services.Oxford City Council approved funding worth £498,799 for SLC Rail to undertake infrastructure place study work as part its plan to reinstate the Cowley Branch line.The line is used only for freight visiting the BMW Mini Plant in Oxford. It was closed to passenger services in 1963 during the infamous Beeching cuts. Reopening it to passenger services has been identified as a key project in the council’s Oxford Local Plan.SLC Rail’s work will see it deliver design studies for new stations near Littlemore and Blackbird Leys.Current proposals would see the line travel through the Oxford Science Park, stopping at a proposed “Oxford South” station close to Littlemore and the Kassam Leisure Complex. The line would then go on to the proposed “Oxford East” station at Blackbird Leys near Oxford Business Park and Oxford Retail Park, connecting it with Oxford Parkway and Oxford Station.Both stations will be located to serve new developments being planned in South Oxfordshire adjacent to the Science Park and at the nearby Northfields site.It is estimated trips between the new stations and Oxford station will take under 10 minutes. The current planning proposal to be worked up through the next phase of work is for the introduction of a half-hourly direct service from the new stations to London Marylebone via Oxford, possibly utilising the existing Chiltern Railways service.The sum so far committed to the reopening of the Cowley Branch line sits at £4.56M. This has been spent on the delivery of a Full Business Case, project management (including legal support) and detailed design.The council has further committed to spend £133,484 for the delivery of feasibility and design work for a cycle and footbridge near the proposed Oxford South station.Reopening the line was a recommendation of the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study published in 2021.Oxford City Council said of its decision to commission the Full Business Case into reopening the Cowley line: “This commission will support the successful strategy and implementation plan for a regionally significant transport scheme. Comprising a funding and finance solution for the project delivery stage of the Cowley Branch line, as well as a spatial framework for the area most affected by the Cowley Branch line, it will enable Oxford City Council and other local parties to ensure the rail scheme contributes to the creation and improvement of the neighbourhoods around the proposed two new stations.“It will rely on high quality work at pace during 2024, including stakeholder engagement, infographics, concept design and forming a successful working relationship with the Network Rail-led programme, as well as other supporting pieces of work coordinated by Oxford City Council.”Like what you’ve read?