NETWORK Rail is to provide £250 million to upgrade infrastructure for Evergreen 3, the Chiltern Railways proposal to create a second Oxford to London main line via a new chord at Bicester.

Chiltern Railways has just applied for a Transport & Works Act order for the work, which will also allow trains to travel between London and Birmingham in 92mins. The present journey time is 117mins.

Robin Gisby, who is Network Rail director of operations and customer service, said: "This is a great scheme that will deliver huge benefits to hundreds of thousands of passengers. It clearly demonstrates how Network Rail is working in partnership with train operators to continue to fund and attract big improvement schemes for the benefit of everyone who uses the rail network."

Over 80km of track will be upgraded to 100mph (160km/h) running, with 800metres of new track built to provide the Oxford connection at Bicester. There will also be additional platforms at Birmingham Moor Street.

Network Rail said the line is designed ‘explicitly to take cars off the road’. A new station will be built at Water Eaton Parkway in north Oxford, an integrated transport hub linked to the A34, A40 and Oxford city centre.

Chiltern Railways chairman Adrian Shooter said, “This is the biggest passenger rail project for several generations not to call on the taxpayer for support. Working closely with Network Rail, we are going to create a new main line railway for the people of Oxfordshire and the Midlands. This deal demonstrates that real improvements to rail services can be paid for without public subsidy by attracting people out of their cars and on to trains.”

Network Rail said its investment will be reimbursed by a ‘facility charge’ over the next 30 years -- initially by Chiltern Railways, whose franchise expires in 2022, and then by the future franchisee

The infrastructure upgrade will be carried out by main contractor BAM Nuttall, in partnership with Jarvis and Atkins. The work will be done in stages, with main line journey time improvements from next year. The new line to Oxford, including Water Eaton Parkway, is expected to open by 2013, subject to Transport and Works Act approval.

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