'Intolerable' noise caused by overnight rail works

The road in Oxford has been closed since April 2023 because of a Network Rail scheme

People living near a railway station say they are being kept awake by noisy overnight works.

Botley Road in Oxford has been closed since April 2023 as part of a £161m scheme to upgrade Oxford railway station and is expected to reopen in August 2026.

Network Rail said the recent noise was partly caused by the removal of an obstruction so it could build the foundations for a new bridge and keep the project on track.

Councillor Lois Muddiman said local residents were finding the noise pollution "intolerable".

Botley Road was closed as part of Network Rail's project to expand the station and improve connectivity.

When the rail operator first outlined its plans it was expected to be shut over two six-month periods, with a six-month break in-between.

But in September 2023 it announced there would be no break because works ran behind schedule.

Then, last July, it said it would not reopen in October as planned.

Resident Catherine Byrne told the BBC: "I've sat on Sunday with a cup of tea in front of me and watched the liquid shaking.

"It's truly awful and it's worrying.

"We have no idea what this kind of work is doing to our houses. I am definitely, as soon as this work is finished, going to get a structural engineer round to have a look at my house."

She said she felt "absolutely furious and completely helpless".

"We complain, we argue, we get furious, we fire off emails, we complain at meetings, and nothing ever changes," she added.

'So loud'

The Green Party's Muddiman, representing Osney & St Thomas, said: "Anyone around the Mill Street area or the Abbey and Cripley Road area who are right up against it, the noise is just intolerable.

"So I've had many, many messages yesterday from residents who are just struggling to deal with it and not able to go out into their gardens because it's so loud."

Network Rail apologised for the disruption but said the work had to take place when trains were not running.

It described the obstruction as a large 4m-deep (13.1ft) brick structure which was not mentioned in its records and ground surveys.

It had to be removed "as quickly as possible" so scheduled work to install new foundations into the ground could continue, it said.

More of this so-called "piling work" is scheduled over the next two weekends, from 23:05 on Saturdays until 04:40 on Mondays.

Oxford City Council confirmed it had received a number of complaints from residents and that it had "requested further information on the level of noise and vibration monitored" from the work.

It described it as "complex engineering" which could "only be carried out during shut-down periods agreed by Network Rail - not the council - due to the impact on national rail infrastructure".