Network Rail launches series of monthly public events for Oxford station upgrade

Thursday 20 Feb 2025

Network Rail launches series of monthly public events for Oxford station upgrade

Region & Route:: Wales & Western: Western; | Wales & Western

Network Rail is inviting residents to learn more about progress on its multi-million-pound programme to upgrade the railway and Oxford station in a series of public events in the city.

Last month, Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and Network Rail Chief Executive Sir Andrew Haines visited Oxford to outline a revised programme for the project, which will see a new walkway/cycle way opened in August of this year and Botley Road reopened in August 2026.

Monthly sessions led by Network Rail directors will be held from 5pm to 6pm in the Cherwell Room at the King’s Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 0ES, on the following dates:

Wednesday 26 February 2025
Wednesday 26 March 2025
Wednesday 23 April 2025
Wednesday 21 May 2025

There’s no requirement to book a ticket for the sessions, however entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis if the events are over-subscribed. The sessions will start with a presentation and will be followed by the opportunity for residents to ask questions.

Network Rail’s Western route managing director Marcus Jones said: “We’re very grateful to the people of Oxford for their patience and understanding while we carry out this work and invite them to come along to one of the sessions to learn more about our progress.

“Our project has faced a number of significant challenges and we are sorry for the frustration and inconvenience these delays have caused. As we work towards opening the first of two new wider walkways in August 2025 and reopening of the road in August 2026, we want to keep everyone up to date and answer any questions people may have. These monthly events, combined with our new oxfordfeedback@networkrail.co.uk email address, are part of our commitment to keeping the community informed.”

As well as improving transport links to the city, when complete, the work will enable more trains service to run, improve the station environment and deliver important improvements in accessibility and active travel with 4m wide pedestrian paths and cycleways away from busy traffic.

Updates on the project are published on Network Rail’s dedicated website www.networkrail.co.uk/oxfordshireconnect. Residents can sign up to the weekly newsletter at Oxfordshire Connect

Contact information

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03457 11 41 41

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Emily Maiden
Network Rail
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About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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