Network Rail set to start ‘hugely complex’ job of reopening Cowley Branch Line
The Government yesterday announced £120m funding to reopen the Cowley Branch Line
A boss at Network Rail says implementing the infrastructure needed to reopen the Cowley Branch Line will be a “hugely complex job” and there will be planned disruption in place during the works.
Yesterday it was announced by the Government that £120 million of funding will be used to reopen the line to passengers for the first time in more than 60 years.
The scheme will also create two new stations at Oxford Cowley and Oxford Littlemore in south-east Oxford.
Marcus Jones, Managing Director at Network Rail said: “It's a hugely complex job. We'll be putting new signalling in, laying new track, replacing old track.
“We’ll be designing timetables which is the bit that is pretty hard behind the scenes to make sure all those services work together. So that's our role that we'll be doing, but we're very confident that we'll be able to do it, and do it well.”
Mr Jones also says, “there will be planned disruption as part of building the railway”.
Adding: “What our job to do now is how do we minimise it to ensure that we can hit the date that we aspire to of 2029 to 2030, which means there'll be a range of options which we haven't developed fully yet.
“But one thing we are doing is making sure that we combine it with other jobs in the area, such as our East West Railway scheme. So, we're trying to make sure that we limit the impact to our customers, residents, and businesses in the area as much as we can.”
The plans to reopen Cowley Branch Line come as part of half a billion pounds investment into the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor to boost jobs, homes and better transport links.
Commenting on the funding, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Oxford and Cambridge are home to the two of the best universities in the world, two of the most intensive innovation clusters in the world, and the area is a hub for globally renowned science and technology. Yet thanks to years of underinvestment, they still lack the public transport, affordable housing, and infrastructure they need. That changes under this government.
“We have massive ambitions for the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, that’s why we’re reopening the Cowley Branch railway 60 years after it closed, why we’re building more affordable housing and investing in business, and how we’ve been able to unlock £10 billion in private investment. By choosing investment and renewal over chaos and decline, we’re boosting growth and building an economy that works for working people.”