TRANSPORT IN OXFORDSHIRE
Your August article on the Oxfordshire rail corridor study (ORCS) states that one aim is to answer the question ‘how can the rail network influence the location and scale of additional development?’ This is admirable in a county seeking to find sites for an additional 200,000 new homes as part of the one million new homes the Government wants to build between Oxford and Cambridge by 2050, but needs to go much further.
A more fundamental question is how to make the best use of transport infrastructure to secure better value for money. Studies need to consider all possible modes, including the opportunities for interchange, and the potential for alternatives such as light rail.
Vivarail trains on the Marston Vale line from Bedford to Bletchley, one element in the Arc, are using lightweight units that can start and stop frequently. But services need to be at least three times an hour if commuters are to be persuaded to leave their cars behind and switch to rail on the ‘science spine’ between Oxford and Didcot.
The real issues that need to be considered are how to join up development and new services, including reopening closed lines and stations, in the light of possible scenarios…
