Oxford to Cowley (THA) branch re-opening

[cle]

The fact is, Oxford and Cambridge have uniquely dynamic economic potential and opportunities for those who don't want to live in London - and actually due to the spaces needed for many of these things, they are better. And thus to thrive as cities with booming job creation, they need transport links and they need housing. And then they need places for incoming residents to eat, sleep, play, learn. And they can retain their old, pretty centres and still have a lot of housing built.

We should be encouraging this decentralization and diversification of economic activity... and investing in it - but if it's not relocating X from London to an ex-industrial northern city (vs actual net new job creation) - people don't seem to celebrate it. And people uniquely seem to want Oxford and Cambridge to remain boring campus museums.

 

[Basil Jet]

There's a rather large-scale rail project connecting Oxford and Cambridge through rail (with plenty of government money) currently in progress. And that at least has the strategic benefit of allowing (mainly freight) trains from the south west to access the WCML without going into London.

Now I'm wondering how such a crucial freight link ever became disused in the first place!

 

[NotATrainspott]

"Car unfriendly Oxford"

Ah, a true "One more lane bro" believer - let's demolish half of Oxford to build beautiful 8 lane motorways, I'm sure that'll improve the place compared to building railways.

Yes, it's car-unfriendly in the way that public transport and LTNs are car-unfriendly. Being so means that they are better for everything else. If we want Oxford to grow it would be much, much better for us to build out local public transport infrastructure than for us to attempt much more road construction. Retaining the Cowley branch as a stub relying on P&R would mean locking in car dependency for other towns. Reopening a line with stations near where people would live means you might not need a car at all to get to work each day.

 

[SynthD]

Nearly all of Cowley will be within a mile of either station. Cowley is three times bigger than the parish of Wheatley. The park and ride is a few miles further in at Thornhill.

 

[The Planner]

Nearly all of Cowley will be within a mile of either station. Cowley is three times bigger than the parish of Wheatley. The park and ride is a few miles further in at Thornhill.

The buses are stupidly frequent from Blackbird Leys and Cowley though. You are going to be hard pushed to get a lot of people to shift modes.

 

[Elecman]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

Bat mitigation measures had to be installed in Wolvercote Tunnel during the Evergreen upgrades

 

[MarkyT]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

It was probably just one more item on the list. Hardly the clincher though, as disturbing the habitats of the many Wheatley humans who would have to be relocated would have been far more expensive and controversial as well as those who would be adversely affected by construction and subsequent operation nearby. I doubt bats would colonise a tunnel in regular use.

 

[The Planner]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

Of course not, except St Johns Wood tunnel didnt close 60 years ago did it. The other reasons have been explained in the thread.

 

[zwk500]

Now I'm wondering how such a crucial freight link ever became disused in the first place!

Because available capacity on other routes has been reallocated to passenger as traffic has grown, and freight terminals have moved around as the end customers have adapted to new economies.

 

[BlueLeanie]

It's very tight at the west end of the site, but the car loading seems to take place at the eastern end, where there's more space for reconfiguring the facilities and separating passenger and freight lines. The logistics building to the south of the railway at the west end is very close to the tracks today and restoration of a second line through the length of the site might require some alterations to its structure (at least it's not the assembly shop!). Configuration through the factory might best be one dedicated freight track to act as a reception line and headshunt from which the loading sidings diverge, alongside a single bi-di passenger line. West of the factory connection, a conventional up/down pair arrangement might commence towards Kennington.

I had assumed the railway inside the factory would be BMW-owned but the http://map.whoownsengland.org map shows it all NR, including the site of the logistics centre which looks like it has been rail-connected in the past. (caveat, map uses 2016 data so property may have changed hands since):

View attachment 142091

That's a substantial double track width bridge across Garsington Road, although looking on Streetview by the style it's not the original bridge.

It doesn't really make sense though. Wasn't it a single track line as far as the bridge anyway, why put such a substantial bit of engineering on the approach to sidings when there was so much space to play with?

Did British Leyland have to pay for a new bridge at some point and British Rail dipped their pockets for something grander than was really necessary?

The buses are stupidly frequent from Blackbird Leys and Cowley though. You are going to be hard pushed to get a lot of people to shift modes.

We did the Mini Experience, there's a BMW sponsored bus that runs every 10 minutes on a circular route Police Station, "Factory Gate", "Bus Depot" (it's like something from on the buses) and then back to Logic Lane. Even though it's non-stop it still almost an hour on the way back. The crew said it was really popular with Business Park staff as although it's a 10 minute walk from the park it was about 30 minutes quicker than the main bus routes as the driver could take the least congested route.

 

[BrianW]

It was probably just one more item on the list. Hardly the clincher though, as disturbing the habitats of the many Wheatley humans who would have to be relocated would have been far more expensive and controversial as well as those who would be adversely affected by construction and subsequent operation nearby. I doubt bats would colonise a tunnel in regular use.

Wolvercote Tunnel was used for regular train services between Oxford and Bicester London Road pre-Evergreen. IIRC bats were there then but the increase in service in order to connect through to Marylebone, a study of the colony of bats was required and 'suitable mitigation measures' proposed for approval. 'Bats' or what!? They would not be there if the tunnel was not there!

 

[MarkyT]

Wolvercote Tunnel was used for regular train services between Oxford and Bicester London Road pre-Evergreen. IIRC bats were there then but the increase in service in order to connect through to Marylebone, a study of the colony of bats was required and 'suitable mitigation measures' proposed for approval. 'Bats' or what!? They would not be there if the tunnel was not there!

Closed between Feb 2014 and October 2015 with bus substitution, so not in continuous use but in the interim there must have been a fair amount of engineering work going on! There was just a single track present when the previous service operated, whereas the new London service required restoration of double track, including through the tunnel. Perhaps the double-track-width tunnel with only a single track and lower frequency was able to accommodate the bats happily alongside the train service.

 

[reddragon]

I did find it crazy that an open line with both tracks in situ but only 1 used needed bat mitigation, planning approvals and noise complaints just to renew the tracks!

 

[The Planner]

I did find it crazy that an open line with both tracks in situ but only 1 used needed bat mitigation, planning approvals and noise complaints just to renew the tracks!

Its more than that though isn't it, increase in traffic, speed, noise etc.. 1 train an hour pootling along at 30mph is a bit different to several at 75mph. It didn't have both lines, it was single.

 

[MarkyT]

Its more than that though isn't it, increase in traffic, speed, noise etc.. 1 train an hour pootling along at 30mph is a bit different to several at 75mph. It didn't have both lines, it was single.

Definitely single line under tokenless block. I remember the tail-light CCTV camera approaching the junction with its monitor on Oxford panel. The remaining track was on one side of the former double-track tunnel, so there was probably plenty of room on the other side for the chiroptera to roost, swoop, frolic or whatever they typically do.

 

[geordieblue]

It's very tight at the west end of the site, but the car loading seems to take place at the eastern end, where there's more space for reconfiguring the facilities and separating passenger and freight lines. The logistics building to the south of the railway at the west end is very close to the tracks today and restoration of a second line through the length of the site might require some alterations to its structure (at least it's not the assembly shop!). Configuration through the factory might best be one dedicated freight track to act as a reception line and headshunt from which the loading sidings diverge, alongside a single bi-di passenger line. West of the factory connection, a conventional up/down pair arrangement might commence towards Kennington.

I had assumed the railway inside the factory would be BMW-owned but the http://map.whoownsengland.org map shows it all NR, including the site of the logistics centre which looks like it has been rail-connected in the past. (caveat, map uses 2016 data so property may have changed hands since):

View attachment 142091

Just had a brief look online and it appears the land northeast of Watlington Road - i.e. the sidings within the BMW plant - was almost all sold off in 2018: https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/default/files/om/watlington-road-land-disposal-decision.pdf.

 

[jimm]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

The bats were one of whole host of reasons. Even if the bats weren't there, the tunnel may no longer be reusable anyway - maintenance spending not exactly being a priority since trains stopped running - the station sites have been built on in both Wheatley and Thame and large parts of the formation have been completely removed by farmers west of Thame.

All of which has been pointed out many times before on this forum and explain, along with the presence of Bicester Village and the continuing expansion of the town of Bicester, why Chiltern went that way instead.

The buses are stupidly frequent from Blackbird Leys and Cowley though. You are going to be hard pushed to get a lot of people to shift modes.

The Oxford Science Park station is arguably more important than Cowley itself in the scheme of things.

The plan is not really about getting a switch of travel mode within Oxford to trains from buses - and there are no plans for a station at Redbridge park-and-ride, because even with improvements to allow passenger trains to Cowley, the need for ever more track capacity on the main line is unlikely to allow time for trains to call there.

The buses, whether from Cowley, Blackbird Leys, Littlemore or the park-and-ride, of course do not require a walk up the hill from the station to the city centre and back down to go home.

The goal is more to cut commuter car traffic to BMW, the science park and other workplaces in that part of the city from places outside Oxford, such as Bicester and the eastern end of the Cotswold Line, and Didcot if the change of trains at Oxford is reasonably slick, to relieve some of the peak pressure on the ring road and tackle traffic pollution.

 

[12LDA28C]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

Bats using Wolvercote tunnel west of Oxford Parkway delayed the reopening of the line into Oxford and resulted in the infamous 'bat lighting' inside the tunnel which is still in use.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Sep 2023 ==

Wolvercote Tunnel was used for regular train services between Oxford and Bicester London Road pre-Evergreen. IIRC bats were there then but the increase in service in order to connect through to Marylebone, a study of the colony of bats was required and 'suitable mitigation measures' proposed for approval. 'Bats' or what!? They would not be there if the tunnel was not there!

Also line speed was substantially lower when trains were running from Oxford to Bicester Town (not London Road). It certainly wasn't 75mph then.

 

[jimm]

Bats using Wolvercot tunnel west of Oxford Parkway delayed the reopening of the line into Oxford and resulted in the infamous 'bat lighting' inside the tunnel which is still in use.

The situations at Wolvercote and Horspath are chalk and cheese - Horspath Tunnel is a key bat roosting and breeding site, whereas Wolvercote Tunnel (and the railway lines in the area generally) is a thoroughfare for bats moving around the north of Oxford. They use the tunnel to pass underneath Wolvercote roundabout and avoid the traffic and streetlights there. Studies by ecologists commissioned by Chiltern found that roosting bats in Wolvercote Tunnel use it as a short-term rest stop, rather than a permanent base.

 

[12LDA28C]

The situations at Wolvercote and Horspath are chalk and cheese - Horspath Tunnel is a key bat roosting and breeding site, whereas Wolvercote Tunnel (and the railway lines in the area generally) is a thoroughfare for bats moving around the north of Oxford. They use the tunnel to pass underneath Wolvercote roundabout and avoid the traffic and streetlights there. Studies by ecologists commissioned by Chiltern found that roosting bats in Wolvercote Tunnel use it as a short-term rest stop, rather than a permanent base.

Yes, I'm aware of that which is why the lighting is only switched on at certain times of the year, to warn the bats of approaching trains and as you say it's more of a 'flightpath' for bats than a roosting site. However it does prove how much influence these ecological issues have on railway considerations.

 

[jimm]

Yes, I'm aware of that which is why the lighting is only switched on at certain times of the year, to warn the bats of approaching trains and as you say it's more of a 'flightpath' for bats than a roosting site. However it does prove how much influence these ecological issues have on railway considerations.

The lights are triggered by approaching trains year-round. I believe an axle counter then switches them off once the train clears the tunnel.

As I said above, the ecological considerations about the bats in Horspath Tunnel were frankly a pretty minor part of the equation when it came to Chiltern's evaluation of the prospects for reopening Princes Risborough to Cowley (which was a single-track line, for those not aware of this point). They basically took one look and decided Bicester was simply the better option all round.

 

[MarkyT]

The lights are triggered by approaching trains year-round. I think an axle counter then switches them off once the train clears the tunnel.

So the bat signal is activated automatically like crossing warning lights by the signalling control system!

 

[LYRobert]

Bat mitigation measures had to be installed in Wolvercote Tunnel during the Evergreen upgrades

Not chalk around Horspath, no. Also the original tunnel there is now frequented by bats, another reason that Chiltern preferred to go via Bicester.

I understood (at the time - long ago!) that the problem of the Thame route was the clearances inside wheatley tunnel. It was a titchy tunnel. But I don't know where I got this info. from. It was a time when bats etc. didn't have the importance then that they do now, it was a loading gauge issue.

 

[Mogz]

Anything that gets more cars and buses off the roads into Oxford is to be welcomed.

 

[oxfordrelayer]

The journey to Oxford station from east Oxford by rail may only take 10 minutes, but is a half-hourly frequency really going to be attractive relative to a bus, especially for people going to the city centre which is still a bit of a walk from the station? Still wondering if this is a solution looking for a problem, but given the scheme has clearly got through the preliminary business case stages someone must have been convinced that rail solves the problem in question and the financial side of the business case stacks up relative to spending money on alternative transport schemes.

It's very tight at the west end of the site, but the car loading seems to take place at the eastern end, where there's more space for reconfiguring the facilities and separating passenger and freight lines. The logistics building to the south of the railway at the west end is very close to the tracks today and restoration of a second line through the length of the site might require some alterations to its structure (at least it's not the assembly shop!). Configuration through the factory might best be one dedicated freight track to act as a reception line and headshunt from which the loading sidings diverge, alongside a single bi-di passenger line. West of the factory connection, a conventional up/down pair arrangement might commence towards Kennington.

I had assumed the railway inside the factory would be BMW-owned but the http://map.whoownsengland.org map shows it all NR, including the site of the logistics centre which looks like it has been rail-connected in the past. (caveat, map uses 2016 data so property may have changed hands since):

View attachment 142091

 

[Mark J]

Interesting, wondering if there's a longer term plan to restore the line as far as Wheatley or Thame?

I'm guessing this isn't the case as there appears to be a lot of development (houses, gardens etc) that have been built on the old route of the line - meaning they would need to take the expensive option of buying out the land again, or rerouting, which I guess is also expensive.

The line could certainly be taken to Horspath, or just slightly to west of.

That is if BMW would allow passenger trains running through their sidings.

The line to the east of the M40 looks relative clear of obsticles, through Thame and joining up at Princes Risborough. The only sticking point is through Wheatley, where houses have stupidly been built over the trackbed in more recent years.

 

[The Planner]

The line could certainly be taken to Horspath, or just slightly to west of.

That is if BMW would allow passenger trains running through their sidings.

The line to the east of the M40 looks relative clear of obsticles, through Thame and joining up at Princes Risborough. The only sticking point is through Wheatley, where houses have stupidly been built over the trackbed in more recent years.

We have done this one to death. It cannot be rebuilt through Wheatley, the houses built there were built at least 50 years ago in some cases as well as the more recent developments. There are houses in the way at Tiddington as well.

 

[Mark24]

We have done this one to death. It cannot be rebuilt through Wheatley, the houses built there were built at least 50 years ago in some cases as well as the more recent developments. There are houses in the way at Tiddington as well.

Also it would be a duplicate of the Oxford to Princes Risborough line through Bicester.

 

[Townsend Hook]

I can't believe that bats were seriously a reason for Chiltern not using the old route. If they discovered bats in St Johns Wood Tunnel tomorrow, would they stop using Marylebone?

I imagine bats would be somewhat less likely to make a home in an active railway tunnel with frequent, diesel trains than an abandoned one. All species of bats are legally protected in the UK and so it is a criminal offence to interfere with their roosts.

Bats and the law - Advice - Bat Conservation Trust

In Britain all bat species and their roosts are legally protected, by both domestic and international legislation. This means you may be committing a cr...

www.bats.org.uk

 

[lachlan]

Cowley Branch Line railway gets £500k for station plans​

Railway line gets £500k for new station plans - BBC News

The Cowley Branch Line move is a step towards "fixing Oxford's chronic transport problems".

www.bbc.co.uk

A railway has been given £500,000 to help design two new stations.
The money from Oxford City Council will pay for design work for two Cowley Branch Line stations at Littlemore and Blackbird Leys.
The move is being described as a step towards "fixing Oxford's chronic transport problems".
Cowley Branch Line is currently only used by freight going to and from the BMW Mini Plant. It has been closed to passengers since 1963.
Oxford City Council cabinet member for housing, Linda Smith, said: "This is progress and it is really welcome progress and part of the journey towards getting us where we need to be.
"This is the kind of ambitious project that could really make a difference."
Ms Smith added the development was a further step towards "fixing Oxford's chronic transport problems".
The newly-approved design work would assist in making sure stations are easily accessible, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

IMAGE SOURCE, NETWORK RAIL
Image caption,
Network Rail has released images of what the stations could look like

There had been unanimous support from city councillors to spend £4.56m on creating a full business case for the proposed service during a council meeting in February last year.
A report stated that much of the money would be forward funded from local landowners and then repaid or offset from future Community Infrastructure Levy payments.
Under current proposals, the railway line will run through the Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park, connecting to the existing Oxford Parkway and Oxford Station, and will offer routes to Bicester and London among other destinations.
Funds are also being contributed to the project by Oxfordshire County Council.