Rail blueprint wins support from cabinet (From The Oxford Times)

Rail blueprint wins support from cabinet

11:20am Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Wantage

A Rail strategy which calls for major improvements to Oxford station and a new station to serve Wantage and Grove has been approved by county councillors.

Cabinet members yesterday endorsed a draft of the plans, which set out the council’s aspirations for the development of the county’s rail network over the next two decades.

It is set to go out to public consultation next month.

Launching the document, Rodney Rose, the cabinet member for transport, said: “Rail must be seen as a credible alternative to the A34 and other major roads in the county. I think we can achieve that.”

Key projects include a new forecourt at Didcot Parkway station, with work due to start later this year, and the creation of a masterplan for expansion of Oxford station. As reported in yesterday’s Oxford Mail, this could include the demolition of the existing station buildings to make room for four through platforms north of Botley Road.

The cabinet reiterated its opposition to the High Speed 2 rail line and challenged the business case for the £32.7bn project, which was approved by the Government last week.

Catherine Fulljames, whose Ploughley division will be crossed by the line, said: “My electorate are not at all happy with the prospect of high speed trains going through their little part of Oxfordshire.

“In this time when there is such a lack of money around this county and country to spend, this amount of money is totally indecent, particularly on a big white elephant.”