Oxford station upgrade: Noise concerns pause 24-hour schedule

The schedule for the £161m station and railway upgrade was disrupted when contractors unearthed an inverted brick arch under the road

Round-the-clock railway station upgrade works have not gone ahead as planned after concerns over noise.

Network Rail had planned to carry out 24-hour work on Botley Road in Oxford from 2 September.

Longer working shifts were required after the discovery of a Victorian-era arch delayed the initial schedule.

But a Network Rail spokesperson said they had listened to residents and were ensuring "the noisiest work" was carried out during the day.

Botley Road in Oxford has been closed since April for a £161m railway station upgrade.

The works schedule will be completed in two phases, with the road under the bridge expected to be closed again between March and October next year.

Since 14 August, the project's working hours have been 07:00 to 19:00 BST, seven days a week, and from 2 September, it was planned to move to 24 hours a day.

Instead, the company said piling work "was carried out between 08:00 and 18:00 on Saturday and Sunday to ensure that there was no disturbance to residents and businesses overnight".

This follows tconcerns that residents and businesses expressed about disruptions in the area that the extended shifts would cause.

"Currently we are carrying out piling - drilling foundations into the road surface and deep underground to secure stability of the structure - which will continue for the coming weeks," a Network Rail spokesperson said.

"Once we reach the stage where the piling is completed and we can dig up the road, we will do the quieter work overnight to maximise the use of 24-hour working."

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