County Hall offers hope to Wantage station (From The Oxford Times)
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County Hall offers hope to Wantage station
6:10pm Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Wantage
The chance to press ahead with reopening Wantage and Grove station could come as early as 2013, according to a new county council vision for the railways.
The creation of a new Wantage Road station has been proposed for decades.
Now a major new County Hall Rail strategy says the re-tendering of the Great Western franchise in two years’ time may present the best chance yet of reopening the station.
It is calling for a business case to be proven commercially.
The document says: “With changes in spatial planning and plans for extensive new housing in the area, as well as the strategic importance of Science Vale UK, the time is right to look again at the potential for Grove & Wantage station.
“The franchise renewal in 2013 may provide an opportunity to seek an appropriate train service – possibly releasing capacity on longer distance services by encouraging local travel between Swindon and Didcot to be made on ‘local’ services.”
County Hall says that a business case is needed to show why services linking Bicester and Oxford to Swindon and Bristol should be reinstated to help growth and economic development.
The councillor responsible for the strategy, Rodney Rose, said it is important that the station site is protected when the line is upgraded.
Rail companies hoping to run the Great Western franchise from 2013 could be encouraged to look at the scheme, and economic growth could turn it into a commercial opportunity.
He said: “The more Science Vale develops, the more there might be an interest in this.
“It is a major growth area for Oxfordshire.”
The Wantage Road station closed after the Beeching Report in the 1960s.
Comments(3)
saddletramp
says...
10:01am Thu 19 Jan 12
Nobody lives within a mile of the old station,pre Beeching it was serviced by the Wantage tram company!!
So everybody who wants to catch a train will have to drive to the station,
where are they going to park?
How many people do you know in Wantage commute to London? Im sure there are some,but i dont know anyone.So again the question,just who is going to use it?
If you want to go to Oxford,Swindon or even Didcot,if you have to drive the 2.5 miles from Wantage to the station,pay for parking,then pay for a train,you might as well drive to said places and save money.
if its cheaper and quicker to drive,who is going to pay more and take more time to go on a train?
What next,steam trains,oh i forgot cant use them,to much of a carbon footprint.
justbored
says...
1:29pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Also, in your comment you said who is going to drive to Didcot, pay for parking then get a train when it's quicker and cheaper to drive. Good point. Whereas if we had a station in Grove then would be no fuel costs, no parking costs if you're willing to walk to the station (shock horror!). Also if you drive to Oxford you will have to pay fuel and parking so who is to say driving is cheaper?
The Big Issue says...
5:53am Thu 19 Jan 12
There could be many more stations in the Vale along the GW mainline that could reopen and be viable; A bus service to Uffington from Faringdon, Challow has plenty of space, Shrivenham has the military college and new housing to give it custom...