Rail expansion call to help freight

From the The Oxford Times, first published Monday 2nd Jul 2007.

CALLS for the reopening of the Oxford-Bicester-Bletchley rail route and reinstatement of double track on the Cotswold Line to Worcester have been given a boost by Britain's key rail freight firms.

The Rail Freight Operators' Association has drawn up a list of 16 projects it says are vital to increase capacity on the network in England.

Among these are enhancements to links between Southampton docks and the West Midlands, including alternative routes to keep trains running when the direct Oxford-Banbury-Leamington Spa route is closed.

The association proposes the reopening of the Oxford-Bletchley line, so that freight trains can reach the West Midlands via Coventry or Nuneaton, and the Stourbridge-Walsall line around Birmingham, which would allow container trains to run via Worcester and the Cotswold Line to reach Oxford.

Network Rail is carrying out a £150,000 study of options to increase capacity on the Cotswold Line, which could see the redoubling of long single-track sections, including one between Wolvercote junction, north of Oxford, and Ascott-under Wychwood.

A decision on whether to go ahead with improvements on the route is expected in October. If approved, work would be completed in 2010.

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