Chiltern Railways is launching a new, faster train line between London Marylebone and Oxford making it quicker for UK travellers to enjoy day and weekend trips to some of the area’s most popular attractions, including Bicester Village shopping mall. The £250m project is due to be completed in 2013.

The new line to Oxford will be the first new rail link from London to a major British city since 1910. This will include the opening of a brand new station in north Oxford called Water Eaton Parkway, which will benefit from direct links to the A34, A40 and Oxford city centre. The new links should also help to reduce congestion in the surrounding area.

Chiltern Railways plans to operate two London-Oxford trains every 30 minutes in each direction. All trains will call at Bicester Town, Water Eaton Parkway and Oxford; some will also call at Islip. Most trains will stop en-route at High Wycombe with easy connections to Wembley Stadium. Journey times are expected to be around 66 minutes from London Marylebone to Oxford; 58 minutes from London Marylebone to Water Eaton Parkway; 14 minutes from Bicester Town to Oxford; and 38 minutes from High Wycombe to Oxford.

Bicester Town station will be completely rebuilt to offer a booking office and parking facilities for both cars and bikes, in order to make it a fitting gateway for the town. Islip station will also be rebuilt with two platforms and Oxford station will be enlarged with new passenger platforms. A direct pedestrian link will also be provided to the Bicester Village shopping mall.

Construction is expected to commence in 2011 and is estimated to last for approximately two years. All work will be completely funded by Chiltern Railways.

A new Chiltern Mainline service is also being launched to offer faster trains on the existing line between the West Midlands, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. Benefiting the entire region, this will result in faster and shorter commutes, with average journey times between Birmingham and London falling by 20 per cent. The Chiltern Mainline is due to run from 2011.

Chiltern Railways has invested heavily in new trains, extra tracks and new stations and is consistently one of the top train operators in the UK for punctuality and passenger satisfaction.