Chiltern Oxford Link completed

[Andyjs247]

It was interesting to see London Road Crossing in operation today for the first time. On my previous trips over the new line it had been closed. There is still a 50mph ESR over the whole of the main line. I gather it was due to have been lifted a few days ago but this has not happened yet. Work continues at a furious pace to get the stations finished and to erect the noise absorbing barriers that line the route wherever it passes residential buildings.
Very impressed with the line overall. It has the look and feel of a brand new railway.

I'm not sure what is going on with the noise barriers. Been a while now since the first piles went in but construction was still continuing yesterday alongside the line adjacent to the town's main park. The noise barriers seem to have massive foundations - not just the large tubular steel piles which could also be used to support electrification masts but substantial concrete foundations as well. I'm not an expert but I do think they look rather over engineered - I mean the scale of the foundations would put some sea defences to shame! And I wouldn't have thought noise barriers were strictly necessary alongside the park as the houses are some way back; yes it will be quiet but there's no watching trains from the park. Can't please everyone it seems.

Meanwhile the level crossing seems to have gained CCTV cameras now. Some new signage, new road markings and an additional "wig-wag" at 90 degrees to the main road for traffic joining from a small side street close to the crossing. Still some work to do on London Road itself it appears, not all of it railway related. The Bicester Town sign was still there. And there's kerbing and a new zebra crossing at least to finish.

 

[RobLawrence]

Not too long I hope - I have to renew my ticket soon! Will ask at the ticket office.

Can't imagine there won't be joint validity as people are going to be extremely grumpy if their regular train is diverted to the new station and they are told their ticket isn't valid. Or they get a Penalty Fare because they didn't buy a zero fare excess!

My BCS annual season is also due for renewal soon. I am going to delay by a week or so and get one on the new terms and prices, As I understand it the last remaining pricing approvals are with the DfT, right now. The annual point-to-point prices are due to be:

OXP £4,688
ISP £4,688
BIT £4,648
BCS £4,648

Remarkably - and this surely is a unique phenomena anywhere on the network - this means London season tickets from Bicester North will reduce slightly in price. Chiltern has also explained to me that all journeys to / from the South will be fully inter-available between the two stations. Given that fact, an Oxford Parkway to London season will be valid from Bicester North to London Marylebone as well as from Bicester Village.

Hope that helps.

 

[RPM]

I'm not sure what is going on with the noise barriers. Been a while now since the first piles went in but construction was still continuing yesterday alongside the line adjacent to the town's main park. The noise barriers seem to have massive foundations - not just the large tubular steel piles which could also be used to support electrification masts but substantial concrete foundations as well. I'm not an expert but I do think they look rather over engineered - I mean the scale of the foundations would put some sea defences to shame! And I wouldn't have thought noise barriers were strictly necessary alongside the park as the houses are some way back; yes it will be quiet but there's no watching trains from the park. Can't please everyone it seems.

I was similarly amazed by how massive the noise barrier foundations are. They would easily support a station platform. If I happen to bump into anyone in the know I will ask the question.

 

[jimm]

I'm not sure what is going on with the noise barriers. Been a while now since the first piles went in but construction was still continuing yesterday alongside the line adjacent to the town's main park. The noise barriers seem to have massive foundations - not just the large tubular steel piles which could also be used to support electrification masts but substantial concrete foundations as well. I'm not an expert but I do think they look rather over engineered - I mean the scale of the foundations would put some sea defences to shame! And I wouldn't have thought noise barriers were strictly necessary alongside the park as the houses are some way back; yes it will be quiet but there's no watching trains from the park. Can't please everyone it seems.

Presumably it all depends on the weight of the barriers, which contain substantial amounts of sound-absorbing material between the timber facings, and the need to ensure that they don't settle at random and stay in place for the long term, whatever the ground conditions.

Certainly in the north of Oxford, where much of the ground alongside the line is on the damp side, hefty piling like this would seem to be a basic requirement and I seem to recall you pointing out Bicester is not exactly bone-dry in places either, so they may just be adopting a consistent anchoring method throughout the route for a belt-and-braces result.

New timetable for route 500 buses between Parkway and Oxford station is now available. According to a post on the OBRAG website, rail season ticket holders will be able to get on and off at any bus stop on the route through the centre of Oxford.

http://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/2328/park&ride_500_WebTimetable_Oct15.pdf

I was amused to note that annual season price from Parkway. Clearly the result of long, careful and detailed calculations at Chiltern HQ... a nice round £100 off the GWR Oxford-Paddington rate...

 

[67018]

My BCS annual season is also due for renewal soon. I am going to delay by a week or so and get one on the new terms and prices, As I understand it the last remaining pricing approvals are with the DfT, right now. The annual point-to-point prices are due to be:

OXP £4,688
ISP £4,688
BIT £4,648
BCS £4,648

Remarkably - and this surely is a unique phenomena anywhere on the network - this means London season tickets from Bicester North will reduce slightly in price. Chiltern has also explained to me that all journeys to / from the South will be fully inter-available between the two stations. Given that fact, an Oxford Parkway to London season will be valid from Bicester North to London Marylebone as well as from Bicester Village.

Hope that helps.

Thanks - very helpful. I see the new lower prices are on NRE if you put a start date beyond the 26th October. Makes a nice change given the annual Travelcard season has previously gone up by £1260 in the previous 4 years.

Interesting that Oxford Parkway will be valid via Bicester North and walk to Bicester Village since I believe a negative easement prohibited going that way before the rebuild.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I know of one similar case - Off Peaks from Bletchley to Euston including the ODTC were reduced to be the same as the LM Only ticket from MKC some time ago.

 

[L&Y Robert]

I was similarly amazed by how massive the noise barrier foundations are. They would easily support a station platform. If I happen to bump into anyone in the know I will ask the question.

Have you considered the wind loading on such a structure? They are like big long sails in close proximity to a live railway. Any deflection, due to wind pressure or anything else, can not be tolerated. An outright collapse is unthinkable - so beefy foundations below ground and sturdy superstructures above.

 

[Andyjs247]

Presumably it all depends on the weight of the barriers, which contain substantial amounts of sound-absorbing material between the timber facings, and the need to ensure that they don't settle at random and stay in place for the long term, whatever the ground conditions.

Certainly in the north of Oxford, where much of the ground alongside the line is on the damp side, hefty piling like this would seem to be a basic requirement and I seem to recall you pointing out Bicester is not exactly bone-dry in places either, so they may just be adopting a consistent anchoring method throughout the route for a belt-and-braces result.

Maybe belt and braces as you say, but it does still rather feel like overkill. The amount of concrete is staggering compared to the stanchions being installed to support the noise barriers (which themselves are shorter and slimmer than any electrification masts). If anything I'd say the piles are required to support the concrete!

New timetable for route 500 buses between Parkway and Oxford station is now available. According to a post on the OBRAG website, rail season ticket holders will be able to get on and off at any bus stop on the route through the centre of Oxford.

http://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/2328/park&ride_500_WebTimetable_Oct15.pdf

I was amused to note that annual season price from Parkway. Clearly the result of long, careful and detailed calculations at Chiltern HQ... a nice round £100 off the GWR Oxford-Paddington rate...

It's good to see the 500 becomes a 7-day operation with times to match the trains. Currently the Water Eaton P&R is closed on a Sunday and the last 500 is around 1900. The buses themselves look to be rebranded to serve Oxford Parkway (rather than Water Eaton Park& Ride).

As a regular service bus (rather than a specific Rail Replacement Bus) presumably there won't be any issue for any rail ticket holders in getting off the 500 at any of the regular stops en route? Boarding with a rail ticket other than a season may theoretically only be possible at either station though. I shall have to try and see though...

I had a mail shot from Chiltern last week advertising the service from Oxford Parkway (as a Bicester resident it would have been more helpful for me to know the costs of travel to/from Bicester! It's almost as if they don't want to mention our new station because of the V-word...) Not been mentioned yet is the saving on parking at Oxford Parkway vs Oxford. At £560 for an annual ticket, it's less than half the £1199 you'd pay in Oxford with GWR. And if the £739 overall annual saving is not enough, Chiltern are also offering GWR annual season ticket holders (whose tickets were purchased before 26 October and are valid between OXF-PAD) the chance to try their new service to Marylebone for free until 21 November, with free parking too! See chilternrailways.co.uk/all-change for details.

 

[jimm]

I had a mail shot from Chiltern last week advertising the service from Oxford Parkway (as a Bicester resident it would have been more helpful for me to know the costs of travel to/from Bicester! It's almost as if they don't want to mention our new station because of the V-word...) Not been mentioned yet is the saving on parking at Oxford Parkway vs Oxford. At £560 for an annual ticket, it's less than half the £1199 you'd pay in Oxford with GWR. And if the £739 overall annual saving is not enough, Chiltern are also offering GWR annual season ticket holders (whose tickets were purchased before 26 October and are valid between OXF-PAD) the chance to try their new service to Marylebone for free until 21 November, with free parking too! See chilternrailways.co.uk/all-change for details.

Sounds like Chiltern is busy maintaining its fine tradition of piling on special offers for everyone except its loyal, longstanding passengers, e.g. many years of special fares aimed at enticing people from the West Midlands off Virgin which cost far less than those available to passengers south of Leamington Spa. Throughout this entire process, Chiltern has been obsessed with the honeypot that it sees Oxford to be, with Bicester passengers, whether locals or shoppers going to the V-word, taken for granted (so why bother with a mailshot for Bicester with boring stuff like Bicester fares...?) and Islip treated like something nasty stuck to its shoe.

Before you get too excited about the parking fees, I should point out that the number of passengers actually using cars to reach Oxford station is pretty small for such a busy station, way more people walk or catch the bus, so the car park is rarely anywhere near full. The cost may have something to do with it but the difficulty of driving in and around Oxford in peak periods is probably much more of a factor.

The cost comparison with Hanborough, a more likely target for attempts to attract people already in the habit of driving to a station, is not exactly earth-shattering, the saving is just £40 on the GWR annual fee of £600, so chuck in the extra fuel to get to Parkway, add in depreciation from the extra mileage and the 'saving' is gone and then some.

It may be a jolly good deal for people using Oxford Parkway compared with Oxford, but it isn't for people currently parking at Bicester North, Banbury or Haddenham & Thame Parkway, who are being asked to shell out £1,040 a year. Will they - and passengers elsewhere on Chiltern - start asking questions about what they are being asked to pay when they get wind of the charges at Oxford Parkway - the day parking rates are also far lower, as they are set at the same level as the Water Eaton bus park-and-ride spaces - so £2 for 11 hours whatever time you arrive, or £4 for up to 24 hours, compared with a £7 peak charge at the other three stations, rising to £7.50 at Warwick Parkway.

And while the offer of free parking for GWR season ticket holders may seem like a good wheeze, they will still have to get to the station, which is easier said then done right now, with roadworks at both the Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts on the A40 in the north of Oxford, due to last for another 12 months or so, which are causing lots of problems for the existing traffic across a wide area, so I would advise anyone thinking of having a first-day ride on a train from Oxford Parkway to either catch the first couple of trains or go after 10am.

A TV ad Chiltern is running locally is on the website here http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/new-way-oxford-parkway

 

[Andyjs247]

Sounds like Chiltern is busy maintaining its fine tradition of piling on special offers for everyone except its loyal, longstanding passengers, e.g. many years of special fares aimed at enticing people from the West Midlands off Virgin which cost far less than those available to passengers south of Leamington Spa. Throughout this entire process, Chiltern has been obsessed with the honeypot that it sees Oxford to be, with Bicester passengers, whether locals or shoppers going to the V-word, taken for granted (so why bother with a mailshot for Bicester with boring stuff like Bicester fares...?) and Islip treated like something nasty stuck to its shoe.

Before you get too excited about the parking fees, I should point out that the number of passengers actually using cars to reach Oxford station is pretty small for such a busy station, way more people walk or catch the bus, so the car park is rarely anywhere near full. The cost may have something to do with it but the difficulty of driving in and around Oxford in peak periods is probably much more of a factor.

The cost comparison with Hanborough, a more likely target for attempts to attract people already in the habit of driving to a station, is not exactly earth-shattering, the saving is just £40 on the GWR annual fee of £600, so chuck in the extra fuel to get to Parkway, add in depreciation from the extra mileage and the 'saving' is gone and then some.

It may be a jolly good deal for people using Oxford Parkway compared with Oxford, but it isn't for people currently parking at Bicester North, Banbury or Haddenham & Thame Parkway, who are being asked to shell out £1,040 a year. Will they - and passengers elsewhere on Chiltern - start asking questions about what they are being asked to pay when they get wind of the charges at Oxford Parkway - the day parking rates are also far lower, as they are set at the same level as the Water Eaton bus park-and-ride spaces - so £2 for 11 hours whatever time you arrive, or £4 for up to 24 hours, compared with a £7 peak charge at the other three stations, rising to £7.50 at Warwick Parkway.

And while the offer of free parking for GWR season ticket holders may seem like a good wheeze, they will still have to get to the station, which is easier said then done right now, with roadworks at both the Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts on the A40 in the north of Oxford, due to last for another 12 months or so, which are causing lots of problems for the existing traffic across a wide area, so I would advise anyone thinking of having a first-day ride on a train from Oxford Parkway to either catch the first couple of trains or go after 10am.

A TV ad Chiltern is running locally is on the website here http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/new-way-oxford-parkway

Yes and another thing is that it is unclear what Chiltern will charge for parking at Bicester station. It used to be free at Bicester Town although I doubt very much that it will still be so. On the other hand, parking at the V-word outlet is free - if you can find a space that is. But as the shops don't open till 10.00, perhaps early commuters will get a chance to clog up the Village car park first for once!!

It will be interesting to see how commuting patterns develop over the next few months. Bicester is getting its own Park&Ride (on the A41 by the new roundabout). It is due to open mid November in time for Black Friday and Christmas. Bicester Village has provided a good proportion of the funding for this. The S5 will stop and I imagine there will be some sort of shuttle to the Village if not the station also. I imagine parking here will be free. It's also intended for commuting to Oxford and Bicester using the S5 although I'm unconvinced of the demand. The 4 buses per hour to Oxford pass Oxford Parkway. Of the Bicester-bound buses, 3 continue past Bicester North the other (to Arncott) passes BIT station.

 

[Class 170101]

The cost comparison with Hanborough, a more likely target for attempts to attract people already in the habit of driving to a station, is not exactly earth-shattering, the saving is just £40 on the GWR annual fee of £600, so chuck in the extra fuel to get to Parkway, add in depreciation from the extra mileage and the 'saving' is gone and then some.

I believe the service frequency to Oxford Parkway is better than Hanborough though.

 

[jimm]

I believe the service frequency to Oxford Parkway is better than Hanborough though.

Across the day, yes, though the Hanborough frequency steps up for the peaks. And, more importantly, you've got to get to the station in the first place. It can be bad enough on the A4095 between Witney and Hanborough in the peaks right now, never mind trying to carry on to Kidlington.

Chiltern seems to have been pretty relaxed about the likely consequences for traffic in the area around the Parkway station throughout the planning process. Others are not so relaxed but their concerns have tended to get drowned out by the complaints about noise and vibration and because the public inquiry wasn't looking at things like traffic.

 

[swt_passenger]

... because the public inquiry wasn't looking at things like traffic.

Really? There are numerous references to the effects on local road traffic in the TWA inspectors report. Did the inspector just rubber stamp the subject?

 

[jimm]

Really? There are numerous references to the effects on local road traffic in the TWA inspectors report. Did the inspector just ignore the subject?

There are a few pages of wibble about traffic in the inspector's report, much of it citing an enormous list of studies and local plans, etc, but basically it just accepts Chiltern's assertions about traffic impacts in spite of the evidence that anyone familiar with road conditions around Oxford, and especially on roads around/linking to the Parkway is well aware of. That the congestion just gets worse year by year. And the main traffic studies cited in the report appear to date from 2009-10, so hardly up to date.

This scheme may, once trains reach the centre of Oxford, radically cut the number of car commuters between Bicester and Oxford but that is quite a different matter from traffic in and around Oxford, where all the roads likely to be used by people travelling to and from the Parkway station are already badly congested and from a lot earlier in the day than Chiltern seems to think, with its assumptions seemingly based on the notion that the jams only build up after 7.30am, when all the London commuters will be safely on their trains anyway. Fingers crossed...

 

[najaB]

Photos of the former crossings at Holts Farm and Oddington taken today

I'm just getting this: "Sorry, the page you were looking for cannot be found."

 

[NickBucks]

Good luck to anyone using the new service and travelling on to Oxford by bus from Oxford Parkway. The road traffic is chaos due to road works at the Wolvercote & Cutteslowe roundabouts. At the peaks it will be quicker to walk. It may be 60 odd minutes Marylebone to Oxford Parkway. I suggest allowing another 60 minutes on the bus !

 

[150219]

Some of the driver training runs have been cancelled according to RealTime Trains, with the message:-


Does anyone know what this really means? As far as I am aware the line is not signalled with ETCS and none of the trains are equipped with ETCS either.

I wouldn't read too much into the coding of these cancellations...ETCS.

There are a number of Q paths scheduled to run, and they vary as and when they are required.

 

[RobLawrence]

According to a post on the OBRAG website, rail season ticket holders will be able to get on and off at any bus stop on the route through the centre of Oxford.

That would be appealing. Nothing on the Oxford Bus Company website to confirm it yet. Here's hoping.

 

[midlandred]

I'm just getting this: "Sorry, the page you were looking for cannot be found."

Apologies - they are moved to their relative galleries after a short time

Here they are:

Holts Farm Crossing 1

Holts Farm Crossing 2

Oddington Crossing

 

[giblets]

Good luck to anyone using the new service and travelling on to Oxford by bus from Oxford Parkway. The road traffic is chaos due to road works at the Wolvercote & Cutteslowe roundabouts. At the peaks it will be quicker to walk. It may be 60 odd minutes Marylebone to Oxford Parkway. I suggest allowing another 60 minutes on the bus !

Yeh, get stuck on the A34 every morning, those roadworks force loads of people to Botley and Hinksey. Crazy they didn't wait until the line was finished right into Oxford, think loads of people would have taken the opportunity to take the train then.
Having said that, the roadworks are due to last 16months, so am sure chiltern will benefit!

 

[starlightEXPRESS]

Is there an opening ceremony planned for Oxford Parkway? I can't find anything on the Chiltern website (or elsewhere).

 

[jimm]

Is there an opening ceremony planned for Oxford Parkway? I can't find anything on the Chiltern website (or elsewhere).

If you mean ribbon-cutting-type stuff, probably not - after all the first train out is at 0546, so not the best time to get local bigwigs to turn out. But Chiltern is definitely organising some media-friendly stuff for Monday to get the message out.

 

[MK Tom]

I'll be going down to ride this on the first day, probably around 11am, so it'll be interesting to see what's there and what the passenger levels are like. I understand there's been consternation from Bicester North passengers about service reductions there, but I like the fact the tickets to Bicester are valid to either station.

 

[swt_passenger]

...I understand there's been consternation from Bicester North passengers about service reductions there...

Should see the usual 'misery for commuters' style of local news story on Monday then, despite the principle of diverting some existing Bicester/Banbury terminating trains to Oxford having been in the public domain for about 5 or 6 years...

 

[67018]

Should see the usual 'misery for commuters' style of local news story on Monday then, despite the principle of diverting some existing Bicester/Banbury terminating trains to Oxford having been in the public domain for about 5 or 6 years...

I can understand the consternation, although arguably people who were likely to be affected ought to have responded to the timetable consultation which made pretty clear what the impacts were going to be.

The biggest complaint is likely to be about the evening peak service. The diversion of the 1718 and 1818 services from Marylebone towards Oxford Parkway leaves Bicester North commuters with a walk or a later, stopping service which is much slower - either option adds 10-15 minutes to the journey.

People may have missed this as this is not due to diversion of Bicester/Banbury terminators - the trains currently go to Birmingham or Stratford.

It's the same with the off peak service which becomes effectively hourly.

Not massive in the scheme of things but people will be unhappy when they suddenly realise that the better service has moved to the other end of town. There will probably be pressure to stop more of the 'first stop Banbury' fasts at Bicester, which Chiltern presumably won't like as it'll detract from their headline end to end times.

 

[cm39275]

If you mean ribbon-cutting-type stuff, probably not - after all the first train out is at 0546, so not the best time to get local bigwigs to turn out. But Chiltern is definitely organising some media-friendly stuff for Monday to get the message out.

The first train is actually the 0749 on sunday 25th. Train then comence running at 2tph for the rest of the day, so sunday is the actual opening day of service, and monday being the offical luanch date for the commuters.

 

[Tio Terry]

The ORR have now granted their consent under the Railway Interoperability Regulations for services to commence. There are a number of Conditions that have to be satisfied before, and after, services start.

 

[route:oxford]

The first train is actually the 0749 on sunday 25th. Train then comence running at 2tph for the rest of the day, so sunday is the actual opening day of service, and monday being the offical luanch date for the commuters.

Which is fantastic news for rail users

For years Oxford has suffered a relatively late start to services on a Sunday - the first service being at 08:55 and taking 1h10m

With Chiltern, their first service will get into London before the first Great Western service leaves Oxford.

The 08:44 on a Sunday looks particularly eye-catching at just 58 minutes into London

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I wonder if that will start an arms race with FGW inserting an early train into Paddington when the timetable changes in December? All good news for the passenger, surely?

 

[Oxfordblues]

At last the real benefits of competition that were the whole reason for privatisation all those years ago will be enjoyed here in Oxford. Chiltern have been quite open in suggesting that the new service won't suffer the repeated signal failures that have dogged the line between Reading and Paddington for many months.