22.09.16
Track installed on Oxford to Marylebone line
Track between Oxford station and Marylebone in London is now complete ahead of a new Chiltern line opening in December.
Network Rail engineers finished laying track on what was an old branch line at Peartree and Wolvercote.
Once the project is complete, two 100mph trains will run from Oxford to Marylebone, providing more opportunities for Oxford residents who currently have to take the train to Paddington to reach London.
Martin Frobisher, London North Western route managing director for Network Rail, said: "This important landmark in our nationwide Railway Upgrade Plan will offer a great new travel option not just for business and leisure passengers in Oxford going to London but also for those in London heading to Oxford.
“It will bring economic benefits to the Oxford region and with it new opportunities for people living there."
The £320m project, which includes an investment of £130m from Chiltern Railways, was first conceived in 2002 and then approved in 2013.
The first section of the route opened from Oxford Parkway, a new station, in October 2015.
The completed line was originally due to open this spring, but it has been delayed due to various requirements, including planning consents, construction, testing of the infrastructure and training of drivers.
Dave Penney, managing director at Chiltern Railways, said: “With the track now laid from our new station Oxford Parkway through to Oxford city centre, we can look forward to the first trains running on 12 December.
“The new rail line will bring significant social, economic and environmental benefits to those living and working along the route and will be the completion of first new rail link between a major British city and London for over 100 years.”
(Image c. Network Rail)
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