Chiltern Railways launched on 26 October its new services into London, connecting Oxford with the capital, following a unique £320 million (EUR 446 million) investment by the franchise operator and Network Rail. Chiltern Railways has invested £ 130million (EUR 181 million) of the £320 million total cost of the new line and stations with Network Rail contributing £190 milion (EUR 264.7 million).
The new rail link to London – the first from a major British city in more than 100 years – will serve brand new stations at Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village. The stations, specified by Chiltern Railways and built by Network Rail, also officially open today as part of this ambitious programme.
The new station at Bicester Village will create a direct connection to the shopping destination from London for the first time, enabling many of the 6.3 million shoppers who visit each year to reach the popular retail destination from just 46 minutes from Marylebone.
Chiltern’s new service offers Oxford commuters an alternative to travelling into London via Reading and Paddington and is expected to attract an additional 250,000 return commuter journeys each year. It is a rare example of new direct competition on Britain’s railways.
The new service will offer two new fast trains per hour throughout the day between Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village station and London with journey times to the capital from under an hour.
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