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Friday 1 May 2026

Public invited to find out more as work to make Tackley station fully accessible nears

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Members of the public are invited to a drop-in event later this month to find out more about the work taking place at Tackley station in Oxfordshire which will make it fully accessible for the first time.

A community drop-in session will take place on Thursday 14 May from 4 to 7 pm at Tackley Village Hall, where members of the project team will be on hand with more information on the work and to take any questions.

Work to build the new footbridge will begin in June and is expected to be completed in spring 2027. The new bridge with two lifts will provide a permanent, safe and step-free crossing over the railway.

The level crossing at the station was closed under emergency measures in 2020 after a number of safety incidents and a temporary bridge built to maintain access between platforms. The new bridge will replace this temporary bridge.

As this work takes place, there will be no access to the Oxford-bound platform and trains towards Oxford will not call at Tackley from Friday 12 June. Trains towards Banbury will continue to run as normal.

To travel to Oxford, passengers are advised to take a northbound train to Banbury at no extra cost and change platforms for trains to Oxford. Alternatively, customers can use the hourly S4 Stagecoach bus from Tackley to Oxford. Step-free or assisted travel can continue to be booked via Great Western Railway’s passenger assist service: gwr.com/travel-information/passenger-assist.

To ensure passengers are not financially impacted by the alternative arrangements, GWR is temporarily reducing the cost of a single rail ticket from Oxford to Tackley for the duration of the closure. This will ensure that the cost of using the bus to get to Oxford and the train back to Tackley is equivalent to an off-peak return rail ticket. Those travelling are advised to allow extra time as the bus service will add approximately 20 minutes to journeys, depending on traffic conditions.

Amjad Ali, Network Rail sponsor, said:  “The project team and I are looking forward to welcoming local residents and rail passengers at Tackley Village Hall later this month to answer any questions and provide information about our work at the station.

“This vital work will provide a permanent solution for safe, step-free access between the platforms at Tackley and allow the level crossing to be formally closed.

Zach Bailey, GWR regional development manager, said:  “We’ve worked alongside Network Rail to reduce the impact of this work but, unfortunately, have taken the difficult decision to close the Oxford-bound platform, to make the station fully accessible.

“The work supports the aims of the OxRail 2040 Vision to improve the county’s stations and rail services to support economic growth.

“Those who would usually travel from Tackley will be able to travel from nearby Heyford at no additional cost or can use the S4 bus. To ensure those who choose to use the bus are not left out of pocket we will also temporarily reduce the cost of the return train travel from Oxford.

“These improvements represent our commitment to the community we serve, creating stations that work better for everyone who uses them.”