Tramway Road to open for walking and cycling as Banbury station improvement work continues

Pedestrians and cyclists travelling from south Banbury can look forward to quicker journeys to the rail station as the newly extended Tramway Road and footpath will open on Wednesday (18 June). 

Drivers will be able to access the Banbury United football ground and the industrial estate using the new section of road and new roundabout. 

Oxfordshire County Council is working with M Group Limited on the recently amended access improvements to Banbury rail station for pedestrians, cyclists, buses, and taxis. 

The next stage of construction starting on 18 June will build the improved Station Approach Road and west car park A. During this time vehicles cannot access the front of the station, except for disabled access, but drop off and pick up is possible in the west car park B and the east side multistorey car park. 

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: "I’m very pleased that the footpath and extended Tramway Road are now available for use, I know this will make a big difference to many people’s commutes and other journeys. 

“We continue to make good progress with these long-awaited station access improvements despite coming across some challenges on site. The teams had to deal with difficult conditions and adapt their plans. 

"Please bear with us while we finish construction. Access to the train station and some drop-off locations will change, but parking will still be widely available.” 

There will be a limited drop-off facility in the west car park B, but passengers can also be dropped off in the east multistorey car park where parking will be available including accessible bays.

Some changes have been made to the design of the improvements since construction work began. This is because of complications including unmapped utility services and archaeological discoveries. There have also been poor ground conditions and a reduced availability of land. 

The design changes mean that vehicles and cyclists travelling south along the newly extended Tramway Road from 18 June will give way at the roundabout and those travelling north along Tramway Road will have priority, where originally two lanes were planned. Work is now expected to finish in December 2025. 

More information about the project is available on the council’s website: oxfordshire.gov.uk/banburystation

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