Melksham to Bow Brickhill

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May 24, 2012, 05:40:40 PM

Recommended service - hourly, according to the GWRUS. Let's work towards that service and towards ensuring all services are used.

7889 Posts in 5009 Topics by 97673 Members
Latest Member: antonyspt

I'm working this week in Milton Keynes ... a truely awful journey from Melksham however you do it. And do you know the irony? I'm just a few hundred yards from Bow Brickhill station. Have a look at some of the suggestions concerning East-West rail that are floating around on this site. Have a look at ideas for a service from South or West of Westbury, via Swindon, Oxford, Bedford to Cambridge and beyond ... and you'll see there's actually a proposal there for a through train through Melksham and Bow Brickhill.

Far fetched? Under the current government / climate, maybe. And yet it looks like the Conservatives are admitting that their previous rail policy was a shambles and are looking at quite a number of lower cost schemes - "tweak"s to the system - that could bring benefits quite out of proporting to the investment.

What would it take to set up a service every 2 hours from Southampton to Bedford, and a service every 2 hours from Exeter to Bedford (via Yeovil). In terms of trackwork, you're looking at Bicester to Bletchly (and perhaps the rails are still there)? Melksham to Bow BrickHill would NOT justify the investment. Linking major planned growth areas Exeter - Southampton - Swindon - Oxford - Milton Keynes - Bedford WOULD.

Quote from: Graham Ellis on November 13, 2006, 07:18:55 PM

In terms of trackwork, you're looking at Bicester to Bletchly (and perhaps the rails are still there)?

According to the link below (which also contains excellent historical details & photos) :
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/s/swanbourne/index.shtml

"The section between Oxford & Bicester London Road was reopened on 15.5.1989 and in 2001 the Strategic Rail Authority looked into reopening the remaining part of the line for passengers between Bicester and Bletchley but this proposal has now been rejected."

"The junction at Bletchley was severed some years ago and the track has now been lifted back to Swanbourne. Between Swanbourne and the junction with the Great Central at Claydon a single track is still in situ but now heavily overgrown and out of use; level crossing gates have been removed and replaced with permanent fencing. This section is officially listed as 'mothballed'. From Claydon Junction to Oxford the line is in regular use as part of the freight line between Aylesbury and Oxford."

Here is a photo of "the end of the line" at Swanbourne (link below.)
http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/s/swanbourne/index20.shtml

I think the Cambridge to Oxford line is widely recognised as being a cutback that is was a mistake. It would make so much sense to restore services along it.

Here is a link to the East - West Rail site:

http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/

Quote from: Lee on November 16, 2006, 02:35:28 PM

"The section between Oxford & Bicester London Road was reopened on 15.5.1989 and in 2001 the Strategic Rail Authority looked into reopening the remaining part of the line for passengers between Bicester and Bletchley but this proposal has now been rejected."

From the First Great Western Website :

17:44 Oxford to Bicester Town due 18:10

This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road transport will be provided.

18:24 Bicester Town to Oxford due 18:50

This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road transport will be provided.

18:59 Oxford to Bicester Town due 19:25

This train has been cancelled. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road transport will be provided.

19:30 Bicester Town to London Paddington due 20:59

This train will be started from Oxford. It will no longer call at: Bicester Town and Islip. This is due to a member of train crew being unavailable.

Road transport will be provided between Bicester and Oxford, calling at Islip.

Those are the "key commuter" Oxford - Bicester Town services and the 19:30 Bicester Town to London Paddington is the last train of the day.

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