Oxford Railway Station
Concerns have been expressed over many years regarding the adequacy and appropriateness of
Oxford station, and its potential for improvement to accommodate forecast increases in rail traffic. In
2004 Oxfordshire County Council commissioned the consultant Arup to carry out a study into options
for station improvements, and the first interim report, entitled “Oxford Station Relocation Study” was
published in June of that year, with the follow-up report, labelled “Oxford Station Study – Stage 2
Report” issued in November 2005. In parallel with the Arup investigations, David Lock Associates were
also commissioned to carry out a study of the potential for development funding, in a Development
Framework study.
In the first of the Arup reports, nine options were considered for station improvements, with four
options being recommended for further consideration, including one for relocation of the station to
Oxpens, some 700m south of the existing station site. Of the 4 recommended options, only two
(Options 5 and 7) provided four platforms, and none considered any greater provision. Option 5
involved improvements at the existing site, and Option 7 relocation to Oxpens. The estimated costs of
these two options, including risk contingencies, were £75.4 and £98m respectively.
In the event, the results of the studies by David Lock Associates into development opportunities and
funding suggested limited potential for the relocation option, hence, apparently on the basis of the
increased cost, the Stage 2 Arup report dismissed any further consideration of the option to relocate
the station at Oxpens. This solution has thus not been considered seriously since 2004.
Eight years have now elapsed since these investigations of options for station improvements at Oxford.
None of the potential station improvements has been carried out, and several of the significant
assumptions made have proved false, such as the development of a guided bus expressway
terminating at the station. Meanwhile, there have been enormous changes in many of the
circumstances relevant to the need, economics and possibilities of station improvements in particular,
and to the provision of public transport services generally in the city, and serving the local economic
region:
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British Rail Board (Residuary)) has intimated the intention to sell the part of the Oxpens site in its
ownership. This could precipitate development which might preclude forever the possibility of an
integrated transport hub.
In addition to the existing main line services, the train operating company Chiltern Rail has
developed proposals for a service to Marylebone, via Bicester, necessitating a new platform at
Oxford and with services due to commence in 2013 or 2014.
The framework for granting of rail franchises has been transformed, with 15-year terms
introduced; the Great Western franchise covering Oxford is due for renewal in December 2012. In
a recent press release, Rail Minister Theresa Villiers stated: “The new Great Western franchise
operator will be closely involved in improving rail services following the completion of the
electrification and Intercity Express projects.” Potential bidders for the Great Western franchise
have stated their requirement for four, 250m long platforms to accommodate anticipated
enhanced services.
Proposals for the development of a new East-West rail route linking Bristol and the east coast,
providing additional services through Oxford, are now being developed, and the route has been
included in the Government National Infrastructure Plan investment programme for 2014 – 2019.
Passenger numbers and rail freight traffic through Oxford station have increased nearly 50% in the
last year alone, according to Network Rail figures. Further increases of rail usage in the region are
now jeopardised by the bottlenecks at Oxford, following the major investments at Reading and
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Bristol stations, and to track infrastructure. Network Rail and the train operating companies are
committed to massive further investment in works which were not in the programme in 2004.
The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has been established, with the mission to promote
the economy of Oxford and the county. It has asserted that “the county is the future economic
engine for Britain ……. the hub of Britain’s knowledge economy.” One of its key programmes is
stated to be “enabling infrastructure for growth and reducing barriers”. Oxford provides the
gateway to this vital economic region.
In November 2011 the consultants Steer Davies Gleave published a report : The Value of Station
Investment whose key findings suggest that appropriate station development can have major
beneficial economic effects, beyond those likely to be identified by a conventional development
appraisal.
The redevelopment and extension of the Westgate commercial centre by the Crown Estate and
Land Securities now appears likely to proceed; an integrated public transport hub at Oxpens would
serve the needs of the shopping and commercial community much better than the more remote
and fragmented current public transport facilities.
Road traffic conditions at the entrance to Oxford Station, in Frideswide Square are recognised by
the highway authority as unacceptable, and there is a current proposal for re-configuration.
Relocation of the station to Oxpens would substantially alleviate traffic congestion at this point and
enable alternative opportunities to be investigated.
Bus usage in Oxford has continued to grow significantly, but this growth emphasises the poor
connectivity between services, and between modes. Further growth is likely to depend on
improvement of the end-to-end journey experience. Increasing the attractiveness of public
transport services is a crucial element in maintaining and improving the quality of the entire,
unique environment offered by this historic and world-renowned city.
Major construction or reconstruction of Oxford railway station is now an imperative for rail service
operations and is evidently committed to; indications suggest that at least five platforms are required,
with four having lengths of at least 250m. Reconstruction at the present site will, at best, involve
significant compromise and leave serious constraints. The construction of a new station at Oxpens
would provide for the needs of all the rail operators for the foreseeable future, and could be
constructed with less disruption to services than would be the case with reconstruction at the existing
site. The disconnection problems between rail and bus services could be addressed by a properlyintegrated transport hub, an impossibility at the current site owing to space constraints. Commercial
development opportunities could be incorporated at the new station site, at the current station and
perhaps elsewhere.
It is thus crucial that irrevocable decisions on land disposal and very substantial engineering
investment should be based on a contemporary appraisal of the circumstances which prevail, and with
consideration of the relevant new factors which have emerged recently, rather than on a historic
analysis carried out under very different circumstances.
The Oxford Civic Society is thus calling for the proposals for relocating the railway station to be
comprehensively re-examined in the light of the circumstances of today, as a matter of urgency and
before any opportunity for providing Oxford with a truly appropriate gateway and transport
interchange is lost forever.
Peter Thompson
Chairman, Oxford Civic Society