Bicester Town railway station
Bicester Town  |
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| Bicester Town railway station in 1979 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Bicester |
| Local authority | Cherwell |
| Grid reference | SP586219 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BIT |
| Managed by | Chiltern Railways |
| Number of platforms | 1 (originally 2) |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2002/03 * | 52,198 |
| 2004/05 * |  50,197 |
| 2005/06 * | 48,685 |
| 2006/07 * | 43,950 |
| 2007/08 * |  51,902 |
| 2008/09 * | 59,964 |
| 2009/10 * | 104,788 |
| History | |
| Original company | Buckinghamshire Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| 1 October 1850 | Opened as Bicester |
| March 1954 | Renamed Bicester London Road |
| 1 January 1968 | Closed |
| 11 May 1987 | Reopened and renamed Bicester Town |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bicester Town from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
Bicester Town is the smaller of two railway stations serving the town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. The larger is Bicester North. Bicester Town station is 12 miles (19 km) miles north-east of Oxford. It is operated by Chiltern Railways.
Contents |
[edit] History
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The Buckinghamshire Railway, which already had a route between Bletchley and Banbury, had powers to build a line to Oxford. The first section of this line, from a junction to the west of Winslow (at a point which became known as Verney Junction) to Islip, opened on 1 October 1850, and this included a station at Bicester.[1][2] Originally named Bicester, the station was renamed Bicester London Road in March 1954,[2] although the nameboards were not altered until 20 September 1954.[3]
The station was closed, along with the rest of the Oxford – Bletchley section of the Varsity Line, on 1 January 1968.[2] However, the station was used by several excursion trains through the 1970s and 1980s.
Network SouthEast reopened the station as Bicester Town on 11 May 1987,[4] as the terminus of the Oxford to Bicester Line. From May 2009 First Great Western and Oxfordshire County Council branded the line "The Bicester Link".[5] Since then operation of the line has been transferred from FGW to Chiltern Railways.
Since 1987 the frequency of trains has varied and passenger numbers have fluctuated accordingly. In the three years 2007-10 more frequent trains have increased the total number of passengers using Bicester Town by 138%.[6]
[edit] Infrastructure
The station has one platform, with a covered waiting area, seats, a clock, help point and public address. There are plenty of cycle stands but no ticket facilities (passengers buy these on the train instead).
The line to the east is used only by freight. The East West Rail Consortium of local authorities plans to extend the Oxford – Bicester service to Milton Keynes Central via Winslow and Bletchley.
There is another track in front of the platform, beside the passenger and freight running line. This is in fact the very long reversing siding for the Bicester Military Railway, serving the local MOD depot.[7]
In August 2008, Chiltern Railways announced a proposal to build a 0.25 miles (400 m) link between the Oxford to Bicester Line and Chiltern Main Line, to allow a new Oxford to London service via High Wycombe. The single line between Bicester Town and Oxford would be doubled and a new station will be built at Water Eaton Parkway. Chiltern Railways hopes that, if approval is granted for the scheme, services will start in May 2013.[8]
The East West Rail Link project has been given the go ahead. Linking Bicester with Milton Keynes and Bedford, trains should start running by 2017.[9][10]
[edit] Services
From December 2008, the service on Mondays to Saturdays was improved with an evening service and a doubling of the service on Saturdays. There are now 11 trains (12 on Fridays) on weekdays and 13 on Saturdays. From May 2009, further improvements saw extra trains during the daytime on Mondays to Fridays and a new all-year round Sunday service, with trains every 90 minutes.
On 22 May 2011, Chiltern Railways took over all passenger operations from this station. This is in advance of the new London Marylebone to Oxford service which is due to start in 2013.[11]
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islip | Chiltern Railways Oxford to Bicester Line |
Terminus | ||
| Future services | ||||
| Islip | Chiltern Railways London Marylebone - Oxford |
High Wycombe | ||
| Water Eaton Parkway | Varsity Line Reading - Bedford |
Winslow | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Wendlebury Halt Line open, station closed |
London and North Western Railway Varsity Line |
Launton Line and station closed |
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[edit] References
- ^ Mitchell, Victor E.; Smith, Keith (July 2005). Oxford to Bletchley. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. Historical background. ISBN 1 904474 57 8.
- ^ a b c Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 33. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508.
- ^ Mitchell & Smith 2005, fig. 50
- ^ Butt 1995, pp. 33–34
- ^ The Bicester Link
- ^ Office of the Rail Regulator data: see infobox at head of article.
- ^ Oxford to Bicester, Banbury and Worcester
- ^ "Chiltern Railways plan to make Bicester well connected". Railnews. 2008-08-29. http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/business/2008/08/29-chiltern-railways-upgrade.html. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ East West Rail Prospectus Accessed 14 December 2011
- ^ Rail Magazine, Issue 685, 14 December - 28 December 2011, Pages 10-11
- ^ Rail Magazine Issue 664, 23rd February - 8th March 2011, page 25 'Chiltern to take over Bicester-Oxford trains'.
[edit] External links
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