I commissioned and worked on this study as Cabinet Member at Oxfordshire County Council and am pleased to have steered it this far. I believe the future of affordable and accessible transport in Oxfordshire (and the UK) will be to connect all our market towns onto the railway. If we are to stop towns becoming dormitories for city workers, creating commutes and congestion on our roads and putting pressure and misery and cost into people's lives, then we need good connections so that people in Carterton, Eynsham and Witney can reliably be in Oxford in 15-20 minutes, and people in Oxford can get to Carterton, Eynsham and Witney in 15-20 minutes.
That way our communities remain distinct and bounded, homan-sized settlements and not endless suburbs, we protect our green spaces, and we can develop the new jobs and workplaces of the future anywhere on the network - protecting the vitality of our town centres, and providing good well-paid local jobs wherever you live.
Imagine a PhD student at Oxford, learning and research in the morning on Parks Road Oxford, heading out to the lab for work at 12 and arriving at 1 in Witney Science Park on (New) Station Lane, a pleasant stroll from the new rail hub. Time for a sandwich and drink on the High Street before heading in for the team meeting and afternoon in the lab. What's more, the trip home takes 30 minutes, with hugely well connected Oxford now serviced by the Cowley branch line, taking in many outer areas including Littlemore and Blackbird Leys. Now imagine that PhD student started work at 16 in a Witney lab as an apprentice, alongside his family in well paid jobs at the science centre. It isn't happening now, but it could with a fast connection to the greatest university in the World.
A publisher in Witney might begin the day at 7 with a quick comfy regular bus to the town centre station, then change at Oxford to be in London for the first meeting of the day at 8.30.
Not everyone will need or want to travel for work, but it does add flexibility for those who do, and also create more jobs in our towns as well as the city, without overdevelopment or unaffordable homes. It will take years, and money including from government, but this sort of infrastructure already exists in Germany, New England and elsewhere in the world. What's more, the trains are much cheaper outside the UK, so everyone can afford to use them.
I have been talking about this a lot to my fellow Labour councillors, in Oxfordshire and beyond. I am convinced that our priorities should be to:
- end transport poverty by making all forms of transport affordable, accessible and available - particularly buses, taxis and trains;
- tackle congestion by making public transport so excellent that it reduces unneccesary car journeys and frees up road space; and
- make our streets safe so everyone can walk and cycle without danger.
This rail study looks at a solution for West Oxfordshire, but has implications for all market towns and cities.
You can now read in full the feasibility study stating the case for a railway route connecting Carterton, Witney, and Eynsham to Oxford.
https://lnkd.in/eenDDpPR
Turf Specialist Melton Council
2moAs a person who grew up in the north west i have experienced the impacts of a lack of heavy rail in certain areas. I hope we see as a result of a train to the airport additional train stations in Airport West and Keilor East.