Oxford to Cowley (THA) branch re-opening

[Falcon1200]

Although I am in favour of the re-opening, I am not altogether convinced about the '"fast and reliable" transport link to the city centre'. Depending exactly where in the city centre you want to get to, a bus will get you considerably closer than a train to the station.

I agree. Oxford station is not particularly well located for the city centre, and the 1 and 5 bus routes provide a far more frequent service than rail ever will. However the rail link would be useful for those changing at Oxford going to, or coming from, further afield by rail.

 

[MarkyT]

Would see platform 3 very busy - ironically it could probably do with a Cambridge scissors set up. But 4 can pick up more of that function, with 5 being all northbound service. Will P5 be able to access Oxford Parkway?

There isn't enough useful length for that between the throats at either end. You'd not get two 5-car Hitachis in the separate ends. The two through roads are a bit busier with freight than the single one at Cambridge, whose primary task is feeding trains to and from the middle scissors. Maybe a new platform south of Botley Rd. If the loop to main crossover was moved north a little once the new bridge deck is in place, and changed to a scissors, a ~150m face might be fitted in before the south end of the car park alongside existing track. Good for 5x26m and maybe 8x20m, possibly with a door at the south isolated by SDO. Alternatively, if the facility was dedicated to a Cowley shuttle, it could be a separate terminal bay track built in the car park. A through full-length platfrom 2 would be much better of course, but that will have to wait until the main concourse building is removed.

 

[cle]

Between Science Park, Ellison Institute, NHS, Kassan Laboratory Park, Unipart, Rudolph Hellellmann, BMW, ARC Park there must be about 20,000 people currently or planned to be working adjacent to these stations.

I'm not sure how many people live nearby but it can't be far off the same. I suspect some would stick with the bus because they'll have a Bus pass.

This is the business case. Many would-be rail users will not be bus users today. They will be driving. This could in theory remove cars as well as some buses.

Plus locals / residents who are on a rail journey (vs city centre trip) - including direct access to Bicester and London.

There isn't enough useful length for that between the throats at either end. You'd not get two 5-car Hitachis in the separate ends. The two through roads are a bit busier with freight than the single one at Cambridge, whose primary task is feeding trains to and from the middle scissors. Maybe a new platform south of Botley Rd. If the loop to main crossover was moved north a little once the new bridge deck is in place, and changed to a scissors, a ~150m face might be fitted in before the south end of the car park alongside existing track. Good for 5x26m and maybe 8x20m, possibly with a door at the south isolated by SDO. Alternatively, if the facility was dedicated to a Cowley shuttle, it could be a separate terminal bay track built in the car park. A through full-length platfrom 2 would be much better of course, but that will have to wait until the main concourse building is removed.

I think being self-contained isn't right. As this is needed to send some trains through Oxford. With EWR coming, there will be 2tph into the bays asap, and then 1-2 more in time. Not to mention other services discussed for future potential. Cowley is needed as a turnback as well as the various benefits (local access/equity, science park/jobs access)

Due to the branch single elements, the Chilterns would need to be a strict clock-face, I would think - and stopping pattern. Maybe in peaks it could morph, or additional services could turn at Oxford.

 

[Mikey C]

I am also surprised that the football ground has any bearing on reopening this line, being only a couple of hundred yards away - Oxfords ground is one of the most inaccessible in the country via public transport and is a good way out of the city.

Of course, Oxford United are now looking to relocate to near where Oxford Parkway station is. So that ship has probably already sailed, and just 25 days per year when a match is on would not be justification alone, but it is something that could have got thrown into the mix to support the case for reopening.

If they weren't planning to move, then better rail access to the Kassam would have been a key benefit of the scheme.

Indeed it would be slightly ironic if a station was to be built there, just as the club moves elsewhere.

 

[zwk500]

If they weren't planning to move, then better rail access to the Kassam would have been a key benefit of the scheme.

Indeed it would be slightly ironic if a station was to be built there, just as the club moves elsewhere.

Smaller football stadiums really aren't as big a factor of new station planning as people would like to believe. The Kassam is hardly Old Trafford. A 12,500 capacity stadium is very much 'nice to have' for the railway but would not be changing the fundamentals of the scheme.
For Oxford particularly the Kassam would be small fry - the away allocation is low, attendances average about 10,000, the ground is next to the ring road, has several P&R sites to connect with, and the local rail network is not particularly well set up to intercept journeys from most of the city or surrounding area towards the ground. For sure, the maybe 2,500-3,000 extra return tickets for 30 days a year is handy revenue to have and useful cars to keep off the road, but it's certainly not central to the scheme benefits in the way 250+ days of commuting to the science park would be.

 

[BrianW]

Smaller football stadiums really aren't as big a factor of new station planning as people would like to believe. The Kassam is hardly Old Trafford. A 12,500 capacity stadium is very much 'nice to have' for the railway but would not be changing the fundamentals of the scheme.
For Oxford particularly the Kassam would be small fry - the away allocation is low, attendances average about 10,000, the ground is next to the ring road, has several P&R sites to connect with, and the local rail network is not particularly well set up to intercept journeys from most of the city or surrounding area towards the ground. For sure, the maybe 2,500-3,000 extra return tickets for 30 days a year is handy revenue to have and useful cars to keep off the road, but it's certainly not central to the scheme benefits in the way 250+ days of commuting to the science park would be.

A good input of 'realism' which is a good feature of thr Forum. Similarly, the 'pie-in-the-sky' element of speculation is also good to see, and from which a seed may be planted ...
I seem to recall the team hailing from Old Trafford, and their fans did find a welcome at the Manor Ground pre-Kassam on a number of occasions ... and as recently as 2010 at the Kassam Stadium ... not exactly a regular event

 

[fishwomp]

If they weren't planning to move, then better rail access to the Kassam would have been a key benefit of the scheme.

Indeed it would be slightly ironic if a station was to be built there, just as the club moves elsewhere.

Well, not as embarrassing as Coventry Stadium - built for (?), but which had to close for the matches due to lack of rail vehicle capacity..

Although as others have said.. attendances are pretty low at Oxford - 9,000 is the average and there'd be a lot of walk-in from the nearby estates.