New Oxford to Bedford rail link 'will boost economy'

Date: 6/12/2011

A scheme to build a new direct rail link between Oxford and Bedford is expected to boost the local economy by £38 million.

Rail Minister Theresa Villiers recently visited Bicester Town Station and met with local authorities and stakeholders, including the East West Rail consortium.

The project, which will link Oxford, Bicester, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes and Bedford, is being supported by the government and it will announce plans regarding its development in summer 2012.

Ms Villiers said: "In addition to helping to boost the regional economy, the new link will slash journey times between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford to under one hour."

She added that the initiative will also create 12,000 new jobs.

It is hoped construction can begin in 2015, with work completed in 2017.

This announcement comes after figures published by Network Rail revealed that between October 16th and November 12th, punctuality on the UK's rail network was 89.3 per cent - an improvement when compared to last year.

Posted by Mary Treen