East-West Rail: Bicester residents call for rail crossing update

The London Road crossing links south east Bicester to the town's centre

Residents in a town are calling for an update on how a new train route will impact a busy level crossing.

East-West Rail is designed to connect communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.

But Bicester residents near the London Road level crossing are worried a higher frequency of trains means they will be "cut off completely" from the rest of town.

East-West Rail Company (EWR) said an update on the line will come in May.

When East-West Rail is completed, more trains will run across the London Road level crossing in Bicester.

Oxfordshire County Council has previously said that the new line will mean the crossing will be closed for about 50 minutes every hour during peak times.

The Bicester to Bletchley section, between Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, is bringing an old line back into use

A resident who has lived in one of the houses next to the crossing for 88 years said she is worried they will be cut off due to the wait time to cross the railway.

"It's unbelievable," she told the BBC on Tuesday. "We're just going to be cut off completely."

Bridges and underpasses have been suggested to stop splitting Bicester in two but she said "if they built a tunnel, these houses would just collapse" as she said they don't have sturdy foundations.

'Concerned'

Carole Hetherington, chair of Langford Village Community Association said: "We want to hear some concrete plans. I understand they have come up with some sort of solution, but they are not sharing that information.

"Everybody has said it has just gone on for so long without any viable solutions and we do need to see what EWR are suggesting."

EWR has said: "You may have seen that [the] Spring Budget mentioned a route update announcement (Bedford to Cambridge) in May.

"We're expecting this will also include updates for other sections of the line, including the London Road level crossing and feedback on the 2021 public consultation."