A new rail service linking Oxford with Carterton, Witney and Eynsham has moved a step closer after a feasibility study has been published in full.
Oxfordshire County Council commissioned the preliminary strategic outline case for the Carterton-Witney-Oxford Rail Corridor (CWORC). This established whether there was a case for building the line, along with the benefits linked to the proposal as well as the likely cost of the project. This followed the original proposals made public by Witney Oxford Transport Group. A summary report was issued earlier this year, giving some details of the proposals.
It has now been revealed that the rail link is feasible and would be justified in transport strategy terms, though a number of planning and environmental issues have been identified. There is also a high cost – estimated to be between £700m and £900m – attached to the proposals as well as difficulties in undertaking such a project.
The line, however, would be profitable although funding for such a large project would need to come from central government. It is, therefore, seen as a long-term project which is dependent on the completion of other rail improvements being funded and completed. These include upgrades to the North Cotswold Line, to which the county council remains committed.
Benefits would include a 23-minute journey from Carterton to Oxford, 16 minutes from Witney and 11 minutes from Eynsham. These are journey time savings of more than 70%. The report also highlights that, compared to other modes of transport, rail is best placed to deliver journey time savings while providing additional capacity.
The first phase of the railway could be delivered by 2033, though no route has yet been decided. The project would also be completed in phases.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, said: “We committed to undertake a study to explore the potential for a new rail link to serve West Oxfordshire, which we have done. The work so far shows that this transformational project would be possible and could provide potentially significant transport and other benefits in the longer-term, in line with our policies to improve public transport.
“However, it would also come at a very significant cost, as well as having wider planning considerations, which we would need to discuss with West Oxfordshire District Council and other partners.”
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We welcome the feasibility study and partnership opportunities to bring an ambitious project to fruition with the county council and other stakeholders.
“There is much work to be done and we will need to create the framework to ensure it is fully costed as an investment that will make a difference to the lives of our residents and address current and future employment. It is not what we do for ourselves today but what we leave for future generations.”
Responses
I lived in Eynsham many years ago. Working at the local engineering factory as a Design Engineer,
My commute then was a walk across a field from the edge of Eynsham to the roundabout where the factory and drawing office was.
Another Marples reverse is always welcomed.
Fire up the NIMBY brigade.
Nimbys, so that’s the end of it.
Why don’t we use tunnels, underground rails that cut out many obstacles as in bridges, roadworks and can be electric.
Modern tunnels drilling must save millions of pounds and green parties can not complain about the environment
Much of the area, especially between Oxford and Eynsham and in and around Witney flood often so tunnels would spend alot of time filled with water.
But the benefits of this plan as well as offering faster journeys should also reduce traffic on the A40 which is desperately over capacity. And encourage people to bicycle to and from train stations.
Extensive tunnelling is one of the main contributors to the excessive costs of HS2! People said they didn’t want railway lines to be closed at the time of Beeching, even though they largely didn’t use them then. Now they might not want them re-opened! This would not be a high speed railway, and any noise would be modest.
I am not particularly convinced this particular project is a vital piece of infrastructure (express buses combined with extensive bus priority measures would be orders of magnitude cheaper?). However we have to find a way to reduce the excessive influence of the nimby lobby in this country if we want to get any project of public benefit completed at reasonable cost.
Nearly a £Bn to build a short railway to a small town and move no more than say 5,000 people a day?? Can’t be justified at all and is a really poor rate of return for passenger miles delivered. The money would be far better used investing in bus and coach travel with dedicated rapid bus routes providing a far better rate of return for a fraction of the build cost per mile. We need to stop this obsession with railways and look at forms of transport. Road transportation is decarbonising far quicker than other transport sectors and green buses could be running on this route far far quicker than trains ever will and far more likely to gain funding.
Most countries in Europe are rightly expanding their rail networks. bring this one on!
Rail is so much better than cars or buses.
They however seem to do this without the excessive costs we have in the UK.