Oxford station - facilities, improvements, parking, incidents and events - merged posts

[whole diary]

[ChrisB]

Sure is......going down to have a nosey tomorrow

[Chris from Nailsea]

An update, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Week-long bridge replacement works disrupts trains through Oxford

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Some train services travelling through Oxford are set to be affected by work to install a new railway bridge near the city's station.

The work will see rail replacement services in place between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, and between Banbury and Oxford/Didcot Parkway for a week from Sunday. Footpath access from the Botley Road into the city centre will also be affected. The current walkway, which passes under the bridge will be closed, with pedestrians needing to follow a new route through the train station.

The works are the next step in the oft-maligned £161m project to upgrade Oxford Railway Station, which has been beset by regular delays.

Giles Clark, project director for Network Rail, said the closure marked a "major milestone" in the work to "provide more capacity and better journeys" in Oxford. He explained the week-long closure would see the current bridge demolished - with two new bridges installed in the vacant space.

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When asked if the works could be delayed, much like the entire railway station project has been repeatedly, Clark said: "We've got to recognise that there's always challenges and a huge amount of work to do in these eight days."

"But we're confident that we have a really good plan and a really good team working on this." He added that Network Rail understood that "getting to this stage" had been a "difficult journey", and thanked passengers and local residents for their patience.

As part of the week long works, pedestrians will be diverted from the current walkway under the Botley Road bridge, and instead be sent via a makeshift walkway through the train station.

"We've done something we've not done before in the railway, which is have a major pedestrian route going through a station," Clark said. "We'll be linking Platforms 3 and Platforms 4 with two polystyrene bridges which we've had manufactured specifically for the job, and people will be able to go through without going across any steps," he added.

From their wording in that BBC article:

The works are the next step in the oft-maligned £161m project to upgrade Oxford Railway Station, which has been beset by regular delays.

No: they haven't been 'regular' delays, they have been 'frequent' delays.  Regular delays could mean 'once every one hundred years': Frequent delays means 'once or twice a week, or month'.

Whatever happened to standards in BBC English? 

[ChrisB]

They missed a trick too - the temporary bridges over the rail tracks in the station hadn't been inserted today & thus the the original walking route under the bridge had to0 remain open. That route through the station needs to open in order to replace the bridge, so they're at least 18 hours behind schedule already.

Don't bank on going anywhere south of Oxford next Monday morning 9th.....

[IndustryInsider]

They missed a trick too - the temporary bridges over the rail tracks in the station hadn't been inserted today & thus the the original walking route under the bridge had to0 remain open. That route through the station needs to open in order to replace the bridge, so they're at least 18 hours behind schedule already.

Don't bank on going anywhere south of Oxford next Monday morning 9th.....

Not sure what time you were down there, but the temporary bridges weren't scheduled to open until around 3pm yesterday.

[ChrisB]

Thanks for that - that's about the time I left.

A task I have been asked to complete on Friday involves the bridges too, so I'd better plan to get there before midday!

[ray951]

I walked through Oxford Station this morning, quite literally, walking from Seacourt Park and Ride to the end of Hythe Bridge Street. Everything was very well signposted, with plenty of staff on hand to direct people, but it was extremely busy and felt a bit like walking through a building site—made worse by the rain.

Crossing the temporary bridges over the tracks was a rather strange experience. As for the works themselves, it’s difficult to see much at the moment, but it does appear that the original bridge has been removed and the new one is not yet in place. I understand the new bridge is due to be installed on day three, which I assume is today.

[ray951]

According to the Oxford Clarion https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-clarion-3-february-2026/ The new bridge will not be lifted in place until Thursday not Tuesday as I stated above. There are also some good pictures in that link.

[ray951]

Network Rail in this post on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15YBCJtScht/ have stated that the bridge works at Oxford are on schedule and the new bridge is now in place. There is a video taken from a drone at that link.

The new bridge that will hopefully lead to a Platform 5 is not yet in place.

[ray951]

It’s good to see that the installation of the new Botley Road bridge was completed on schedule, with the first train to cross it appearing to be the 6A68 01:37 Westbury Tarmac to Oxford Banbury Road, which passed through at 04:46

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

Oxford train station platform cordoned off amid bad smell

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Part of Oxford railway station has been cordoned off due to overflowing sewage causing a stink for commuters.

There is a "whiff" in the air at city centre's train station, according to one commuter, with what appears to be toilet paper spilling out from the pipes.

Images sent in show shredded up wet paper coming from a cover on the platform with liquid surrounding it on the ground.

A commuter told us: "There’s a little whiff, not much. Pretty grim sight when you’re trying to have a tasty Taylors sandwich for lunch though."

The area has been cordoned off with yellow and black tape by workers at the station ahead of it being fixed.

Thames Water, Network Rail and Great Western Railway have all been approached for further information.

Charming! 

[ChrisB]

Always "a commuter".....

[Chris from Nailsea]

Journalists clearly not using the Oxford English Dictionary. 

[IndustryInsider]

In a sure sign that Platform 5 is still a couple of years away, the old Pumpkin unit on Platform 4 has now been repurposed as an additional waiting room. 

Good news in that the previous small facility is now more than three times larger.  Bad news that it's taken so long and that they closed the Pumpkin in the first place! 

Hindsight, eh?