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Oxford Station - complete rebuild suggestions

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swt_passenger

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There was a thread about 6 months ago about alternative suggestions, might save time. Here you go:
 

mr_jrt

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..and here's my concept from an even older one, 10 years ago!

&tldr; I proposed abolishing the through roads and using the space to get 6 through platforms and possibly even 2-3 bays.
 

fishwomp

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What would you do if you could completely rebuild Oxford station and the surrounding tracks, on a similar scale to Reading (or perhaps even more ambitious)? Any ideas welcome.
I'd make it be open 24 hours a day - so that there was no argument about who opens the doors every morning..
 

Zomboid

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With the coming of Cowley and the additional running line to the south from that, I would look to try and segregate the Marylebone and Paddington routes as much as possible.

With the constraint that nobody is going to be rebuilding the Botley Road bridge again, I think the general shape of things as they are could work out. Build platform 2 through, and by moving the buffers south a bit, the track accessing P1 could feed 2 north facing bays for EWR of ~175m.

Then throw some money at resignalling things so that to the north of the station the western pair of lines are for the Cherwell valley and Cotswold lines, with the eastern pair are for the OXP route. To the south the western pair are for Didcot with a single line to Cowley on the eastern side of the formation.(I'd add also a station with a passing loop at Kennington/ Redbridge P&R and platforms on the Didcot lines).

Platform 4/5 become the platforms for Paddington/ Birmingham/ Worcester and 2/3 are used for Marylebone/ Cowley, with reversing sidings on both sides of the formation for trains that terminate from the south, or they could carry on to reverse at Hanborough/ Charlbury/ a new station at Kidlington.

The rest of the "Reading style" rebuild is rebuilding the station building that I've demolished for the new platforms.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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..and here's my concept from an even older one, 10 years ago!

&tldr; I proposed abolishing the through roads and using the space to get 6 through platforms and possibly even 2-3 bays.
I was just about to say just that — six through platforms.
 

cle

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With the coming of Cowley and the additional running line to the south from that, I would look to try and segregate the Marylebone and Paddington routes as much as possible.

With the constraint that nobody is going to be rebuilding the Botley Road bridge again, I think the general shape of things as they are could work out. Build platform 2 through, and by moving the buffers south a bit, the track accessing P1 could feed 2 north facing bays for EWR of ~175m.

Then throw some money at resignalling things so that to the north of the station the western pair of lines are for the Cherwell valley and Cotswold lines, with the eastern pair are for the OXP route. To the south the western pair are for Didcot with a single line to Cowley on the eastern side of the formation.(I'd add also a station with a passing loop at Kennington/ Redbridge P&R and platforms on the Didcot lines).

Platform 4/5 become the platforms for Paddington/ Birmingham/ Worcester and 2/3 are used for Marylebone/ Cowley, with reversing sidings on both sides of the formation for trains that terminate from the south, or they could carry on to reverse at Hanborough/ Charlbury/ a new station at Kidlington.

The rest of the "Reading style" rebuild is rebuilding the station building that I've demolished for the new platforms.
This makes sense to me. I’ve seen Platform zero plans ages ago and do think only one bay won’t be enough for 4-5tph EWR.

Also we should consider the Didcot semi fast services returning once wires get to Oxford. Those seem good for p3 or 4. And received wisdom is about Hanborough taking the second Padd fast out of the turning mix.

Bristol-Oxford at hourly also seems feasible, indeed likely sooner than wires for the Didcot/Padd stopper! So that needs consideration - or sending the Bristol through to somewhere else which is probably optimal, like Banbury or even Moor St. but staying on the ‘western’ side vs a conflict to to Bicester direction.
 

Zomboid

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Part of the idea of a passing loop on the Cowley branch at Kennington is so that the Marylebone trains can cross there without impacting the Didcot line, and then it'd probably only normally need one platform at a time in Oxford station (the existing P2), so platform 3 can be available for anything that's terminating from the south which will at least need a longer dwell time and get in the way of a fast.

Alternatively, without Kennington I don't know how long it's proposed to take to get to Cowley and back, but if those trains can reliably cross in Oxford station then that island will only be occupied for a couple of minutes every 30, so any terminators from the Didcot direction that can't use 4/5 could fit into the 20+ minutes between Marylebone trains.
 
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The Planner

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This makes sense to me. I’ve seen Platform zero plans ages ago and do think only one bay won’t be enough for 4-5tph EWR.

Also we should consider the Didcot semi fast services returning once wires get to Oxford. Those seem good for p3 or 4. And received wisdom is about Hanborough taking the second Padd fast out of the turning mix.

Bristol-Oxford at hourly also seems feasible, indeed likely sooner than wires for the Didcot/Padd stopper! So that needs consideration - or sending the Bristol through to somewhere else which is probably optimal, like Banbury or even Moor St. but staying on the ‘western’ side vs a conflict to to Bicester direction.
The Bristol isn't going to go to Banbury or Moor St, it will go to E-W if its extended.
 

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