Step forward for £100m rail link

Plans for a £100m rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes have been boosted by the results of a study.

The year-long study, which cost £300,000, found that the East West Rail link was "credible, deliverable and affordable".

Trains would serve Oxford, Islip and Bicester, with plans to eventually link to Cambridge and East Anglia.

The new routes would also support plans to build houses in the area. Services could be up and running by 2012.

Improved transport links with neighbouring areas would be a real boost. Councillor David Robertson

The study found that two trains an hour could run between Oxford and Milton Keynes, and the new track could prove a vital piece of infrastructure for long distance passengers and freight services.

The cost of building the railway would be £100m to £135m, added the report, which was funded by the East West Rail Consortium and nine other groups including local authorities and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA).

Councillor David Robertson, responsible for transport at Oxfordshire County Council, said: "We all know that Bicester is a growing town and improved transport links with neighbouring areas would be a real boost."

Neil Gibson, chairman of the East West Rail Consortium, added: "The release of this report shows for the first time that there is a credible and achievable scheme for the western section of East West Rail.

"The consortium will be putting plans together that take the project through the next development stages and ultimately this will define what is finally built and operated."