£20m investment expected to keep Oxfordshire’s rail ambitions on track
Around £20 million of investment in Oxfordshire’s rail system is recommended to be approved later this month.
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet will be asked to authorise funding allocations to help deliver OxRail 2040, its ambitious plan to improve rail transport and connectivity across Oxfordshire and the wider region over the next 15 years.
The funding includes contributions towards:
- An Oxfordshire Metro: creating an integrated transport network that brings together rail, bus, walking and cycling in a better co-ordinated and seamless user-centred travel offer.
- The delivery of the Cowley Branch Line, including new stations at Oxford Cowley and Oxford Littlemore
- Three other proposed new stations at Begbroke, Ardley, and Wantage & Grove to support growth.
- Continuing studies with industry partners to deliver more overhead wiring and introduce new battery-electric passenger trains across the county
- Installing an underpass at London Road in Bicester, linked to the East West Rail project and the need to remove the existing level crossing.
The money is expected to come from a variety of sources, including enterprise zone grant funding, East West Rail ‘works in kind’ funding, and section 106 contributions from developers.
Councillor Gareth Epps, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We welcome the work and industry engagement that has gone in so far, which is helping to turn the OxRail 2040: Plan for Rail vision into reality. I look forward to discussing the paper at cabinet.”
Following the completion of Network Rail’s installation of a new railway bridge and redesigned road layout at Oxford Station last month, attention will now turn to what further measures are required to enable the station to cope with growing passenger numbers, improve its mobility links and upgrade its appearance and facilities.
The council is planning to allocate £1.5m towards a £3m project to improve safety and the customer experience at the station’s eastern concourse. The government and Great Western Railway are expected to fund the rest.
The planned £20m investment will build on the £1m allocated by the council in its 2025 - 26 budget for rail development activity. This funding has helped leverage wider investment in Oxfordshire’s rail network, improve active travel access to stations, progress station enhancement programmes and develop business cases that assess the environmental, economic and community benefits of rail investment.
OxRail 2040: Plan for Rail, which was approved by the council in November 2025, was extensively consulted on and has driven the funding priorities.
The council’s cabinet will meet on 20 October to discuss the latest recommendations.
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