THE upgrading of the Oxford to Bicester line west of the new station at Oxford Parkway into the city itself has been completed by Network Rail, and the project is on schedule to open in December, when Chiltern Railways will start running services between Oxford and London Marylebone.
The route, which includes a new chord at Bicester connecting the east west corridor with the Chiltern Main Line, will be the first ever to compete with GWR services between Oxford and London.
The final track installations were completed around Peartree and Wolvercote in Oxford, and the line speed has risen from a former 20-40mph (30-60km/h) to 100mph (160km/h).
In future, the route between Oxford and Bicester will also carry trains on the revived east west link towards Bletchley and Bedford, with an extension onwards from Bedford to Cambridge also being considered.
Meanwhile, services between Oxford and Marylebone will begin with the December timetable, providing two trains an hour.
Chiltern managing director Dave Penney 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."
Network Rail route managing director Martin Frobisher added: "This important landmark in our nationwide Railway Upgrade Plan will bring economic benefits to the Oxford region and with it new opportunities for people living there."
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group said: “The close partnership between Chiltern Railways and Network Rail shows how the rail industry is attracting more funding from new sources to build the railway Britain needs and wants.”