Station move looks doomed
Plans for Oxford's railway station to move to a new site at Oxpens as part of the West End development look to have been killed off.
A report into the feasibilty of improving the existing station at Frideswide Square found it would cost far less than a new complex.
Engineering consultants Arup say widening the Botley Road bridge to carry extra tracks and building two more platforms to cope with extra services would cost at least £68m.
But this would still be substantially less than building a new station a few hundred metres to the south.
The consultants were commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to investigate the feasibility of upgrading the station and to examine the impact on surrounding streets.
Council leader Keith Mitchell said: "The new station is now unlikely to happen. The difference in the costs is so huge it could not be justified.
"It's disappointing that the station cannot be moved closer to the city and the new John Lewis department store. There's no developer ready to do it. I can now see the station being expanded in the existing footprint."
He said the decision would mean that a large area of land would no longer have to be kept in reserve as part of the West End regeneration, which could progress, while a case was made for Government funding to expand the existing station. Peter Mann, the council's assistant head of transport, said: "The report tells us it's technically feasible to construct additional lines and platforms at the existing station.
"But what we have to decide is whether it is practical in terms of the impact on the surrounding area and in terms of the cost."
The report will be submitted to the West End Steering Group, made up of the city and county councils, the South East England Development Agency and Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, which has a campus at Oxpens.
There are two platform tracks and two freight lines through Oxford station, with a bay platform at the north end, which limit the growth of services and would be inadequate if the East-West railway link to Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge ever reopens.
Network Rail spokesman Laura Dobson said: "We have received a copy of the report into the possible expansion of Oxford station and are looking into the feasibility of each option.
"While we're not funded for major projects of this nature, we will provide any assistance we can, including advice, expertise and any associated work that falls within our remit."
The Strategic Rail Authority said earlier this year year that a move to a new station would not be feasible until at least 2014, when signals in Oxford are due for renewal.
