February 4th, 2010
At the AGM, Chiltern Railways confirmed that the Bicester-Oxford line will need to be closed for a period of 9-12 months, beginning mid 2011, in order for the track improvements for Evergreen 3 to be carried out. This will obviously be a great inconvenience to users of the service. Unfortunately this work is necessary due to the position of the existing line and the poor condition of the foundations beneath it.
In the meantime a replacement service will operate. There was some discussion at the AGM about the options for replacement services and Chiltern seem open to discussion about this. Please vote in the following poll to express your preference(s) or add a comment if you have a suggestion that is not listed:
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Tags: evergreen
Posted in Chiltern Railways, Fares, Timetable | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2010
Minutes from the OBRAG AGM last week are now available here:
OBRAG AGM 2010 Minutes
Also, there have been more articles in the press recently about Chiltern Railways’ Evergreen 3 proposals for the Bicester-Oxford service:
Bicester Review 2010-02-01
Bicester Advertiser 2010-01-28
Oxford Mail 2010-01-28
Tags: evergreen
Posted in Chiltern Railways, News | 1 Comment »
January 15th, 2010
In a series of features on Radio Oxford today about Chiltern’s recent TWA application for a new Oxford to London service via Islip and Bicester, OBRAG’s Ian East was interviewed by Wesley Smith at 17:30 on the Bill Heine show. A recording of the interview can be heard by clicking this link to BBC iPlayer. The interview starts around 1h23m40s in. Other mentions are made at 47m45s and 2h19h50s.
The new service is also detailed in this news report on BBC Oxford TV. You may find this easier to view by clicking the ‘open in standalone player’ link.
These links on iPlayer are likely to last only for a limited time.
Posted in Chiltern Railways, News | 1 Comment »
January 11th, 2010
The OBRAG AGM will be held in the Hunt Room at the Kings Arms Hotel, Market Square, Bicester from 18.30 until around 19:45 on Thursday 28 January 2010.
The agenda will be as follows:
1) Chairman’s Summary
2) Guest Speaker – John Horsman, Stakeholder Liaison Manager for Chiltern Railways
3) Financial Report
4) Election of Officers
5) Open Discussion
If anyone would like to stand for the positions of Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary or Website/Publicity, please contact us before the meeting.
Click here for a map of the Kings Arms Hotel. It is a 5-10 minute walk from Bicester Town Station. If you are coming from Oxford or Islip the 17:54/18:07 connection will get you there at 18:19. For a return service, a train leaves at 20:00.
Posted in Chiltern Railways, News | 1 Comment »
January 7th, 2010
Our chairman (Ian East), who is also on the FGW customer panel, is meeting with FGW next Thursday (14 Jan 2010) and has the chance to talk about the new Bicester Link timetable and put forward possible changes. It would be great to get your input on this, so please vote on the top issues using our poll on the right hand side of the main homepage. Alternatively it would be great to hear your general comments on these or other issues – to do this use the “Leave a reply” section at the foot of this post.
Also, for reference, please click here for a version of the Dec 2009 Bicester-Oxford timetable in Microsoft Word format.
Posted in First Great Western, Timetable | 4 Comments »
January 7th, 2010
Adrian Shooter, Chairman of Chiltern Railways, has recently sent this message to the Evergreen 3 consultation group:
As you may know, Chiltern Railways has, over the past year, been preparing a Transport & Works Act (“TWA”) application for the works needed for a new train service between Oxford and London Marylebone. This has now been submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport, on the 6th January 2010. The Application documents can be viewed at: http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/index.php/document-downloads
In finalising the design work and the Application we have listened to the views of people who have participated in the consultation to date, and tried to incorporate these where possible. However, any objections and comments you may have previously submitted to Chiltern Railways do not get taken forward in the formal TWA process. Therefore, if having read the relevant sections of the Application, you still have an objection to the scheme or wish to make a representation you will need to formally submit your objection/representation to the Secretary of State by the 17th February 2010. Details of how to do this are contained within the attached document.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your involvement to date in the consultation and development of the scheme; the information and views provided have been very valuable. Chiltern Railways remain committed to the process of consultation going forward and we will continue to share information regarding the scheme with you throughout the next stages of the TWA process.
Yours Sincerely,
Adrian Shooter,
Chairman, Chiltern Railways
Posted in Chiltern Railways | 1 Comment »
December 17th, 2009
Just a reminder that off-peak rail fares are only £2 return from Bicester-Oxford (£1.80 Islip-Oxford). Compared to the bus (X5 is £4.50 Bicester-Oxford) or Park & Ride (at least £2.20 plus petrol costs and the chance of traffic jams on the A34), this represents excellent value for journeys into the centre of Oxford.
Parking is free all day to rail users in the Islip and Bicester Station Road car parks and also Bicester Village (Mon-Fri only bays marked for rail users).
Posted in Fares, First Great Western | 2 Comments »
December 15th, 2009
The new First Great Western timetable started on 13 Dec 2009. If you have any comments to make about how it has affected your journey, including connections at Oxford, please post them here. We would also be interested to hear about any changes you would like FGW to consider for the next timetable for us to raise at the next Customer Panel meeting on 12 Jan 2010.
Following this morning’s leaflet drop advertising this website, we now have over 100 subscribers, so it would be great to get your feedback!
Update: For a summary of the timetable changes, click here.
Posted in First Great Western, Timetable | 2 Comments »
December 4th, 2009
Welcome to the new OBRAG website! We’ll be using this as a means to keep you informed about the latest news affecting the Bicester Link (Oxford-Bicester) line.
Check back regularly for updates or subscribe to our RSS feed or email update service.
Posted in News | No Comments »
November 27th, 2009
DETAILS of a £10m project to expand Oxford’s railway station are unveiled today. Dr Ian East, chairman of the Oxford-Bicester Rail Action Group quoted here.
Posted in Chiltern Railways, Network Rail, News | No Comments »