THE new rail link from Oxford to London has edged closer to completion after the structure for the new Bicester Village station was finished yesterday.

The controversially-named station will open on October 26 – the same day as Oxford Parkway station.

It will be the first stop on the 56-minute journey from Oxford Parkway to London Marylebone when the first train departs at 7.26am.

Rob Brighouse, who is the managing director of Chiltern Railways, said: “The team has been working exceptionally hard to reach this significant milestone.

“We’re getting ever closer to opening the new Oxford Parkway to London Marylebone rail link and Bicester Village station on October 26.

“The line is the first new rail link between a major British city and London for over 100 years.”

The station will feature two new platforms and a rebuilt car park.

Andy Milne, senior programme engineer at Network Rail, said: “This is a significant milestone in delivering the new Chiltern Railways service from Oxford Parkway to London Marylebone and is also a real step forward in reconnecting the railway from Oxford and Bicester towards Bletchley, Milton Keynes and Bedford.

“It is being delivered in a ground-breaking, collaborative partnership between Network Rail, Chiltern Railways and our supply chain partners.”

The station’s name has received mixed responses.

As previously reported in the Oxford Mail, the change from Bicester Town to Bicester Village left residents disappointed.

At the time, Chiltern Railways said the reasons behind the name change was to make it clearer which station to travel to for the popular designer shopping outlet.

The line is expected to have 1,000 more passengers use it every morning. Two trains will operate every hour from Oxford to Marylebone.