Chiltern Oxford Link completed

[67018]

You know perfectly well what I meant - I was referring to your dismissive attitude towards the concerns of people in the town about the idea of renaming the station and their views on Bicester Village-related traffic chaos, which you seem to think was all magically solved after last Christmas - this after umpteen years of broken promises to do better next time. When they do better again at the end of this year and for as many years as they have been getting it wrong up until now, then people might start to believe them.

I was mainly pointing out that the 'people in the town' who make the most noise aren't necessarily representative. If you believed the hyperbole you'd think that there was gridlock on an almost daily basis, which simply isn't the case. 'People in the town' includes me and my neighbours, who generally regard it as a minor incovenience at worst.

As for the station, someone else has already pointed out that anything that encourages use of the rail service can only help with the traffic situation.

Okay, Bicester London Road it is then (even if it won't be in any ticketing system)... And surely you should be calling it Deptford Road, not the newfangled Surrey Docks?

London Road and Deptford Road were both before my time, but each to their own.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I'm told that the "renaming" of Bicester Town in the fares database is due to Rail Settlement Plan being too efficient(!), and that it should revert with this week's update.

 

[jimm]

I was mainly pointing out that the 'people in the town' who make the most noise aren't necessarily representative. If you believed the hyperbole you'd think that there was gridlock on an almost daily basis, which simply isn't the case. 'People in the town' includes me and my neighbours, who generally regard it as a minor incovenience at worst.

As for the station, someone else has already pointed out that anything that encourages use of the rail service can only help with the traffic situation.



London Road and Deptford Road were both before my time, but each to their own.

So are you any more representative?

I don't think there's anyone who thinks there is "gridlock on an almost daily basis" - though it makes a good soundbite, doesn't it? Just quite a few - who have every right to make as much noise as they like about it - of the view that Bicester Village's efforts, over many years, to deal with the days when things got dire were... dire.

I don't doubt for a moment that the ability to funnel Boxing Day traffic off the A34 to Oxford Parkway to catch a train for the last few miles will assist matters - though there can be no guarantees of what people will do once they are in their cars - but that is no thanks to Bicester Village itself, rather more to Chiltern's vision, and still does not provide any sound basis for renaming a town's principal railway station after a shopping centre.

 

[67018]

So are any more representative?

I don't think there's anyone who thinks there is "gridlock on an almost daily basis" - though it makes a good soundbite, doesn't it? Just quite a few - who have every right to make as much noise as they like about it - of the view that Bicester Village's efforts, over many years, to deal with the days when things got dire were... dire.

I don't doubt for a moment that the ability to funnel Boxing Day traffic off the A34 to Oxford Parkway to catch a train for the last few miles will assist matters - though there can be no guarantees of what people will do once they are in their cars - but that is no thanks to Bicester Village itself, rather more to Chiltern's vision, and still does not provide any sound basis for renaming a town's principal railway station after a shopping centre.

People have the right to make noise, it just gets a bit tiresome when they are presumed to represent the view of everyone in the town. They also seem to forget that large sums of money are being spent on a new rail link, new station and a hugely upgraded service. This is undoubtedly A Good Thing and the sort of good news that many towns would be grateful for, regardless of what they call the station.

Back to the actual progress, does anyone know if the closure over the 21-22 March weekend will be when the new chord gets linked to the main line? It's looking like it's ready for it, to the untrained eye anyway.

 

[Andyjs247]

Yes, large sums of (mostly) public money are being spent on the new rail link - it is entirely reasonable that the public should have a view on how it is spent. And in various surveys a majority would prefer the name to remain as "Bicester Town". I have not seen any evidence that renaming the station has significant support. There are many people who would consider it inappropriate that public money be used to actively promote a particular business, in this case a shopping mall. The station is there to serve all of Bicester not just the shopping mall. Does Bicester Village need public subsidy?

The Town station is not a private facility although you could be forgiven for believing otherwise. Meanwhile the same Bicester Village are preventing access to Bicester Town station / London Road currently - there is still a gate accessible which could be opened, but which remains locked. Its not surprising there is distrust amongst local townspeople especially when Chiltern Railways apparently ignore the feedback from the public consultation and also failed to mention relocation of the rail replacement bus stop to Bicester Village. Now if you arrive at London Road you find the RRB bus is only accessible via a lengthy detour on foot; but there's no map or directions. Just a handwritten note and Post-it Note stuck on the bus timetable saying We Have Moved.

 

[yorkie]

I'm told that the "renaming" of Bicester Town in the fares database is due to Rail Settlement Plan being too efficient(!), ...

They do what they want, when they want. They're seemingly unaccountable and no-one will make them accountable as we have no effective Regulator and no proper ombudsman

 

[RobLawrence]

I too am local to the station (well, in fact both of them). I can understand some people in Bicester have genuine frustrations about the commercial dominance of the shopping development on the town. But I really don't object to the station changing its name to "Bicester Village" - although I suspect the already vocal opposition from a relatively small number of people means this is now much less likely to happen.

Whether it ends up Town, Village or even Garden City (it won't!) I am hoping that my next ticket will read "Bicester Stations & London Terminals". But under the proposed new timetable - and because I don't work fixed hours or use the same train each day - I am still stumped as to where to park. It seems I will be spending many evenings walking 10/15 minutes across town, having departed Bicester North, only to arrive at ther other station in the evening.

 

[67018]

I too am local to the station (well, in fact both of them). I can understand some people in Bicester have genuine frustrations about the commercial dominance of the shopping development on the town. But I really don't object to the station changing its name to "Bicester Village" - although I suspect the already vocal opposition from a relatively small number of people means this is now much less likely to happen.

Whether it ends up Town, Village or even Garden City (it won't!) I am hoping that my next ticket will read "Bicester Stations & London Terminals". But under the proposed new timetable - and because I don't work fixed hours or use the same train each day - I am still stumped as to where to park. It seems I will be spending many evenings walking 10/15 minutes across town, having departed Bicester North, only to arrive at ther other station in the evening.

Very good point - and probably a lot more worthy of getting some attention. The last proposed timetable I saw had significant gaps in the service to Bicester North, especially in the evening. It looks like it's been designed on the assumption that the stations are effectively interchangeable, ignoring people who have to decide which one to park at as well as those who live quite a lot further from one than the other.

A decent cross-town bus service would be ideal - not holding my breath though.

 

[po8crg]

A shuttle bus connecting the two stations, the town centre and Bicester Village would work well. Could even add a park-and-ride to the circuit if there's a sensible place to build one.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

A Brompton is one solution.

But I wonder if Oxfordshire County Council might consider bringing their Oxonbike hire scheme to Bicester. If you arrive at the "wrong" station, just swipe a card, pick up a bike and cycle five minutes to the right one.

 

[67018]

A shuttle bus connecting the two stations, the town centre and Bicester Village would work well. Could even add a park-and-ride to the circuit if there's a sensible place to build one.

Would be ideal - and there's a site already earmarked for a park-and-ride which is supposedly being built this year. Although it was also supposed to be built last year, so we will see.

But there has to be a question mark over the continuation of the shuttle bus once the Bicester Village visitors can go straight to the new station. And I can't see it being viable in the evenings. Hire bikes would be a good workaround though, even if no good for those with luggage or limited mobility.

 

[CyrusWuff]

But there has to be a question mark over the continuation of the shuttle bus once the Bicester Village visitors can go straight to the new station. And I can't see it being viable in the evenings. Hire bikes would be a good workaround though, even if no good for those with luggage or limited mobility.

The shuttle will probably continue running, albeit at a reduced frequency, for connections from the North, as I can't see people wanting to potentially have to change at Banbury and again at Oxford.

 

[giblets]

The shuttle will probably continue running, albeit at a reduced frequency, for connections from the North, as I can't see people wanting to potentially have to change at Banbury and again at Oxford.

Agree, technically you would not need any buses to meet trains coming from the south, but does depend on the oxford service frequency.

 

[work-traveller]

They should wait until the garden city plan is implemented (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30287273). Then they can move straight to re-naming the station 'Bicester City'.

 

[Andyjs247]

I wonder if it would be possible to divert the bus (the 26) which goes from Kingsmere via the town centre to Bicester North currently. At the moment it doesn't appear to be particularly well used; no doubt because Kingsmere is still being developed. if it were possible to go from Kingsmere to the Village then Bicester Town, then town centre and Bicester North I'm sure it would be better used. It would provide some competition to Chiltern Railways overpriced shuttle bus but would depend on having access between Bicester Village and Bicester Town not being closed at the whim of BV.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

They should wait until the garden city plan is implemented (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30287273). Then they can move straight to re-naming the station 'Bicester City'.

At the rate Bicester Village is expanding they may have to rename it Bicester Town.

 

[jimm]

They should wait until the garden city plan is implemented (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30287273). Then they can move straight to re-naming the station 'Bicester City'.

Only problem with that is that it will be a Garden Town, not city...

 

[67018]

I wonder if it would be possible to divert the bus (the 26) which goes from Kingsmere via the town centre to Bicester North currently. At the moment it doesn't appear to be particularly well used; no doubt because Kingsmere is still being developed. if it were possible to go from Kingsmere to the Village then Bicester Town, then town centre and Bicester North I'm sure it would be better used. It would provide some competition to Chiltern Railways overpriced shuttle bus but would depend on having access between Bicester Village and Bicester Town not being closed at the whim of BV.

This is a key point - the road access to Bicester Town isn't great, because the obvious route is through the Bicester Village car park. This needs to become a proper through route, really. Otherwise, given the previously discussed issue of the London Road level crossing, a bus service would be difficult to provide and a lot of drivers will have to drive almost to Bicester North before doubling back.

Good idea about the 26, which could possibly serve or terminate at the P&R oppsite Kingsmere. I don't think there has been enough thought put into integrating the two stations.

Only problem with that is that it will be a Garden Town, not city...

Interestingly, the original announcement seemed to be for a 'Garden City' which was hastily amended to 'Garden Town'. There's clearly a lot of sensitivity about the 't' word!

 

[midlandred]

rebranded!

The decision to rename a railway station in an Oxfordshire market town has sparked outrage.
Bicester Town station is being rebranded as Bicester Village, named after the retail outlet which has contributed to congestion in the area.
Chiltern Railways said its decision could ease traffic by attracting more out of town shoppers to come by rail.
But resident Sallie Wright said switching the focus from the town to Bicester Village was a "disgrace".

 

[Cherry_Picker]

A shuttle bus connecting the two stations, the town centre and Bicester Village would work well. Could even add a park-and-ride to the circuit if there's a sensible place to build one.

That already exists to a certain extent. There have been shuttle buses (actually, they are more like coaches) connecting North station with Bicester Village for the best part of ten years. Whether they will survive the spur opening remains to be seen as I think Bicester North will hemorrhage passengers once alternative stations on the Oxford branch open for business but I presume something will continue to exist even if it's scaled back from the current service.

 

[RPM]

In light of this announcement It is a surprise that the architectural style of the station has not followed the twee quasi-transatlantic style of Bicester Village.

 

[THC]

A bit late for that, RPM - although the cynic in me wonders just how much Chiltern and/or NR have received for the privilege.

THC

 

[aylesbury2]

Article in today's 'Oxford Mail' outlining Chiltern's decision to rename the station Bicester Village: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11...ter_Village_after_Chiltern_Railways_decision/

 

[67018]

Article in today's 'Oxford Mail' outlining Chiltern's decision to rename the station Bicester Village: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11...ter_Village_after_Chiltern_Railways_decision/

I love one of the comments on that Oxford Mail article: "They are proposing to rent some old second hand deisel [sic] trains to operate this service". Maybe the author should start a thread on here about how hard done by we are, getting these cast offs from up north

 

[infobleep]

I can confirm that Bicester Town is now showing as Bicester Village in retail systems...but the "original" Bicester Village (NLC H921) is still there as well for the bus link from Bicester North. I fail to see any way in which this could possibly end badly.

London Terminals - Bicester Village (former Bicester Town) Off-Peak Day Return : £24.80 (intended to be via Oxford)
London Terminals - Bicester Village (via Bicester North) Off-Peak Return : £32.00

Just saying!

Railway companies have a history of having two different stations in the same town with the same name. Perhaps that's being revived.

 

[RPM]

Well it looks like the name change is a done deal now. Chiltern's Twitter feed was full of objectors last night. Hard to gat a handle on whether we are dealing with a genuinely angry population or a vocal minority.

I love one of the comments on that Oxford Mail article: "They are proposing to rent some old second hand deisel [sic] trains to operate this service". Maybe the author should start a thread on here about how hard done by we are, getting these cast offs from up north

Always amuses me that. Trains transfer from south to north and it's "London's old cast-offs". Trains transfer from north to south and it's "pinching our trains for the wealthy south". I'm looking forward to getting our cast-offs from the north (which incidentally were cast-offs from the south when they originally went to TPE).

 

[route:oxford]

Well it looks like the name change is a done deal now. Chiltern's Twitter feed was full of objectors last night. Hard to gat a handle on whether we are dealing with a genuinely angry population or a vocal minority.

In Oxfordshire it'll be the vocal minority as usual.

I noticed in the newspaper paper that the Green Party has a hand in the campaign - they do tend to float towards the angry minorities in order to try and capture the protest vote.

 

[swt_passenger]

Always amuses me that. Trains transfer from south to north and it's "London's old cast-offs". Trains transfer from north to south and it's "pinching our trains for the wealthy south". I'm looking forward to getting our cast-offs from the north (which incidentally were cast-offs from the south when they originally went to TPE).

Will the critics actually be able to tell the difference if Chiltern go ahead and modify them into some sort of 168 sub class as mooted here in older threads?

In any case, it has been repeatedly explained that the 170 transfer is for general strengthening purposes on the whole Chiltern route network, and Chiltern's submission to the Evergreen 3 TWA inquiry explained that no additional stock was required to run the Oxford service.

 

[aylesbury]

Agree with RPM the new to Chiltern units will be rather pleasant to travel on ,noticed today that the bridge at Aylesbury Parkway has been replaced with an extremely smart looking piece of kit.Local newspapers are notorious for useless articles about transport projects and are written by journo,s who are merely marking time in the hope of moving on to a national paper,

 

[Oxfordblues]

This raises the question of the name of Oxford Station. At one time it was titled "Oxford General" to distinguish it from the adjacent Rewley Road LNW terminus. When Oxford Parkway opens in September there might be some confusion, especially among foreign tourists seeking the Dreaming Spires rather than a soulless Park & Ride. My suggestion is "Oxford City".

 

[RPM]

In Oxfordshire it'll be the vocal minority as usual.

I noticed in the newspaper paper that the Green Party has a hand in the campaign - they do tend to float towards the angry minorities in order to try and capture the protest vote.

One of the main complainers on Twitter seems to be a UKIP councillor or candidate and much the same thought crossed my mind.