Bicester North railway station
Bicester North  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The station in 2011, after completion of widening work on the southbound platform | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Bicester, District of Cherwell, England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°54′13″N 1°09′00″W / 51.9035°N 1.1500°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP585231 | ||||
| Manager | Chiltern Railways | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BCS | ||||
| Classification | DfT category D | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 1 July 1910 | ||||
Original company | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Great Western Railway | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  0.148 million | ||||
| Interchange | 3,509 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.512 million | ||||
| Interchange | 19,850 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.633 million | ||||
| Interchange | 18,563 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.758 million | ||||
| Interchange | 3,984 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.823 million | ||||
| Interchange | 4,264 | ||||
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Bicester North (/ˈbɪstər/ ⓘ BIST-ər) is a station on the Chiltern Main Line, one of two serving the market town of Bicester, in Oxfordshire, England; the other is Bicester Village. Services operated by Chiltern Railways run south to London Marylebone and north to Banbury, Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon.
History
[edit]
The Bicester cut-off, between Ashendon Junction and Aynho Junction, was opened in 1910; it was the last main line stretch of route to be completed in Great Britain until the 1980s. This provided a shortening of the London-to-Birmingham Great Western Railway (GWR) railway line and gave Bicester a station with direct London trains for the first time.[1][2]
The station was transferred from the Western Region of British Rail to the London Midland Region on 24 March 1974.[3]
In 2010, the down northbound line through the station was realigned for higher speeds, as part of the Evergreen 3 project. In 2011, the up platform was widened, using the trackbed of the former through lines.[4]
Improvements to the station's car park began in summer 2026, as part of a £3.8 million project.[5]
Services
[edit]Services are operated by Chiltern Railways, which provides the following general Monday-to-Friday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph):[6]
- 2 tph to London Marylebone, typically calling at Haddenham & Thame Parkway (once per hour) and High Wycombe only
- 1 tph to Birmingham Moor Street
- 1 tph to Banbury, with alternate services extending to Birmingham Snow Hill and at peak times.
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiltern Railways | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Ardley Line open, station closed |
Great Western Railway Bicester "cut-off" |
Blackthorn Line open, station closed | ||
References
[edit]- ↑ MacDermot 1931, pp. 448–449.
- ↑ Mitchell & Smith 2002, fig. 82.
- ↑ Slater, J.N., ed. (May 1974). "Notes and News: Transfer of Marylebone-Banbury services". Railway Magazine. 120 (877). London: IPC Transport Press Ltd: 248. ISSN 0033-8923.
- ↑ "Evergreen 3 progress". Modern Railways. London. December 2010. p. 9.
- ↑ Johnston, Howard (July 2026). "Regional News". Rail (magazine). No. 1066. p. 21.
- ↑ "Download our timetable". Chiltern Railways. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
Bibliography
[edit]- MacDermot, E.T. (1931). History of the Great Western Railway. Vol. II (1st ed.). Paddington: Great Western Railway.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (September 2002). Princes Risborough to Banbury. Western Main Lines. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-901706-85-0.
External links
[edit]- Train times and station information for Bicester North railway station from National Rail
- Map sources for Bicester North railway station