County councillors hope the completion of the latest stage of Chiltern Railways Evergreen project will boost the case for an East-West rail corridor.
Oxfordshire County Council is a leading member of the East-West Rail Consortium, and is working with local MPs to push for the project to be included in the Government’s 2014 to 2019 railway investment programme. If successful, it is hoped the project will re-establish a strategic railway linking Reading, Oxford and Aylesbury with Milton Keynes and Bedford providing a major boost for businesses and residents alike.
Councillor David Robertson, the deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: "In all my time in local government I have never known such a positive feeling across such a huge spectrum of organisations - both geographically and in terms of both private and public sector speaking with the same voice.
"There is an absolutely overwhelming feeling that East-West Rail will bring enormous benefits to Oxfordshire, our neighbouring areas and further afield. This is a scheme of national significance. The rail industry sees its strategic significance, the business community sees it, as does the public sector, including Oxfordshire County Council. We are now looking to Government to recognise its strategic significance and commit to working with us to deliver this valuable piece of infrastructure.
The latest phase of the Evergreen project made significant improvements to the line between Bicester and Marylebone, allowing trains to reach speeds of up to 100mph and cutting journey times.
"Chiltern Railways are a huge success and the investment in the line to Marylebone leading to 100mph trains shows just what is possible with imagination and good business sense," said Cllr Robertson.
"We need and want to be a firm part of the Government's plans for the five years following 2014/15 - but decisions on who will make it on to those plans will be taken over the course of the next 12 months, so all of us will be hammering the point home about the strength of the case for East-West Rail."
