Varsity Line

Varsity Line
[v · d · e]Varsity Line
Legend
GER line to
Continuation backward
GER line to Ipswich
Fordham via Quy
Unknown BSicon "exCONTg" Straight track
Cambridge
Fen Line
Continuation to left Unknown BSicon "eABZdl" Unknown BSicon "ABZ3lf" Station on transverse track Unknown BSicon "eABZ3lg" Unknown BSicon "ABZ3lg" Continuation to right
West Anglia Main Line
Cambridge (LNWR) Goods
Unknown BSicon "exSTR" Unknown BSicon "exKDSTl" Unknown BSicon "exABZlg" Continuation forward
Hitchin-Cambridge Line
GER line to Huntingdon
Unknown BSicon "exCONTf" Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Unknown BSicon "meuENDEa"
Note: Alignment west of
Unknown BSicon "meuENDEe"
Cambridge is now track of
Lord's Bridge
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Mullard Observatory's
Toft and Kingston
Unknown BSicon "exDST"
moving telescope
Old North Road
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Gamlingay
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Potton
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Great Northern Railway
Unknown BSicon "exSTRrg" Unknown BSicon "exBHFq" Unknown BSicon "exSTRrf"
Former LNWR Station
East Coast Main Line
Continuation to left Unknown BSicon "eABZ3lg" Unknown BSicon "xKRZo" Station on transverse track Continuation to right
Sandy
Unknown BSicon "exSTRlf" Unknown BSicon "exABZql" Unknown BSicon "exSTRq" Unknown BSicon "exSTRlg"
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Girtford Halt
Unknown BSicon "uexCONTr" Unknown BSicon "exmKRZo" Unknown BSicon "ueCONTl"
River Ivel (former navigation)
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Blunham
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Willington
Unknown BSicon "exBHF"
Bedford St Johns (former site)
Track turning from left Stop on transverse track Unknown BSicon "xABZgxr+r"
Bedford St Johns (current site)
Bedford Midland
Continuation to left Station on transverse track Unknown BSicon "xABZdr" Unknown BSicon "exkABZq+r" Unknown BSicon "ekKRZ+xr" Unknown BSicon "exCONTl"
Bedford to Hitchin Line
Straight track Unknown BSicon "ekABZg+r"
(Midland Railway)
Straight track Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Kempston and Elstow Halt
Midland Main Line
Track turning left Transverse track Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Continuation to right
Stop on track
Kempston Hardwick
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Wootton Broadmead Halt
Stop on track
Stewartby
Stop on track
Millbrook
Bedford to Bletchley operates
Stop on track
Lidlington
as the Marston Vale Line
Stop on track
Ridgmont
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Husborne Crawley
Stop on track
Aspley Guise
Stop on track
Woburn Sands
Stop on track
Bow Brickhill
Unknown BSicon "uCONTr" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "uCONTl"
Grand Junction Canal
Stop on track
Fenny Stratford
Track turning from left Transverse track Junction to right
LNWR
Track turning from left Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Transverse track Unknown BSicon "ABZ3lf" Track turning from right
West Coast Main Line
Continuation to left Unknown BSicon "ABZ3rf" Unknown BSicon "ABZ3lf" Station on transverse track Unknown BSicon "eABZq+lr" Unknown BSicon "KRZo" Continuation to right
Bletchley
Unknown BSicon "xABZrg" Track turning right
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Newton Longville (proposed)
Unknown BSicon "KDSTxe"
Newton Longville landfill
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Swanbourne
Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Winslow
Unknown BSicon "exABZrg" Unknown BSicon "exSTRq" Unknown BSicon "exSTRlg"
Metropolitan Railway
Verney Junction
Unknown BSicon "exBHF" Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
to Aylesbury
To Banbury
Unknown BSicon "exCONTr" Unknown BSicon "exABZrf" Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Claydon
Unknown BSicon "exHST" Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Winslow Road
Reversing siding of
Unknown BSicon "xENDEa" Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Granborough Road
freight line to Calvert
Junction to left Track turning from right Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Great Central Main Line
Unknown BSicon "exCONTr" Unknown BSicon "eKRZu" Unknown BSicon "eABZlg" Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Straight track Unknown BSicon "eHST" Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Calvert
Calvert landfill
Straight track Non-passenger station/depot on track Unknown BSicon "exSTR"
Grendon Underwood Junction
Straight track Unknown BSicon "xABZlf" Unknown BSicon "xABZlg"
Quainton Road Junction
Marsh Gibbon and Poundon
Unknown BSicon "eHST" Unknown BSicon "exSTR" Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Quainton Road
Great Central Main Line
Straight track Unknown BSicon "exCONTf" Straight track
(open only on Bank Holidays)
Launton
Unknown BSicon "eHST" Continuation forward
Metropolitan Railway
Straight track
to Aylesbury
Continuation to left Unknown BSicon "KRZu" Continuation to right
GWR Bicester Cut-off line
Bicester Town
Station on track
(Current passenger terminus)
Junction to left Continuation to right
Bicester Military Railway
Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Wendlebury Halt
GWR Oxford and Rugby Railway
Continuation backward Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Charlton Halt
GWR Oxford, Worcester and
Continuation backward Straight track Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Oddington Halt
Wolverhampton Railway
Straight track Straight track Stop on track
Islip
GWR former Witney Railway
Unknown BSicon "exCONTr" Unknown BSicon "eABZlg" Straight track Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Oxford Road Halt Proposed Site
Yarnton
Unknown BSicon "eHST" Straight track Unknown BSicon "uCONTg" Straight track
of Water Eaton Parkway
Unknown BSicon "eABZlf" Unknown BSicon "eKRZu" Unknown BSicon "uemKRZu" Unknown BSicon "eABZrd"
Buckinghamshire Junction Railway
Wolvercote Junction
Track turning left Junction from right Urban straight track Straight track
Duke's Cut
Unknown BSicon "uCONTr" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Waterway T-junction to right Enter and exit tunnel
Wolvercote Tunnel
Wolvercot Platform
Unknown BSicon "eHST" Unknown BSicon "uLock5" Unknown BSicon "eHST"
Wolvercote Halt
Straight track Waterway turning to left Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "uCONTl"
Oxford Canal
Oxford North Junction
Junction from left Unknown BSicon "eABZ3rg" Track turning right
Straight track Unknown BSicon "exHST"
Port Meadow Halt
Sheepwash Channel
Unknown BSicon "uCONTr" Unknown BSicon "mKRZo" Unknown BSicon "umKRZuxswq" Unknown BSicon "uCONTl"
LNWR swing bridge
Oxford General
Station on track Unknown BSicon "exKBHFe"
Oxford Rewley Road
Cherwell Valley Line
Continuation forward

The Varsity Line (or Oxford to Cambridge Line) is an informal name for the railway route that formerly linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated successively by the London and North Western Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and British Railways. A pun on the railway term main line was sometimes employed by describing the line as the "Brain Line".

Services were withdrawn from the Oxford - Bletchley section and the Bedford - Cambridge section at the end of 1967, even though the line had not been listed for closure as part of the Beeching Axe in 1963.

The only sections still in regular passenger use today are the Oxford to Bicester Line from Oxford to Bicester Town, and the Marston Vale Line operation from Bletchley to Bedford. The Bicester - Calvert section still carries freight traffic but the Calvert - Bletchley section, though still extant, is currently disused. There are well-developed plans to open a short section from Bicester Town to the Chiltern Main Line as part of Project Evergreen 3 and from Bicester to Bedford as part of the East West Rail Link.

In the absence of a through rail service, Stagecoach East's X5 coach service provides a passenger service by road between Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keynes and Bedford.

Contents

Historic route

The line was built in stages, the first being that between Bletchley and Bedford which opened in 1846. The Buckinghamshire Railway opened the section between Bletchley and Verney Junction on 30 March 1850[1] as part of its line to Banbury. The Buckinghamshire Railway then opened the section between Verney Junction and Oxford on 20 May 1851.[1] The L&NWR worked the Buckinghamshire Railway on a 999 year lease from 1 July 1851, and absorbed the company on 21 July 1879.[1] The Bedford and Cambridge Railway opened in 1862. The L&NWR took it over in 1865 but did not use it to operate a through service between Oxford and Cambridge. Instead it operated separate Bletchley - Oxford and Bletchley - Cambridge services.[citation needed]

During the Second World War, the line carried many trains to and from the Bicester Military Railway. A junction between the line and the Great Central Main Line was built between Calvert and Claydon.

An attempt to close the line in 1959 failed due to large local opposition. The line was not listed for closure in Richard Beeching's 1963 report "The Reshaping of British Railways", but came under pressure from the road lobby and Minister of Transport Ernest Marples,[citation needed] who had appointed Dr Beeching. Patronage of the line fell[citation needed] when the introduction of fast trains from London to Oxford and Cambridge made it quicker for passengers to go via London. At the end of 1967 British Railways withdrew passenger services from the Oxford - Bletchley section and all trains from the Bedford - Cambridge section, a year after it had withdrawn passenger services north of Aylesbury on the Great Central Main Line.

In the 1980s the line between Aylesbury and Bletchley via Calvert was used for transfers of empty passenger rolling stock due to the closure of the London Marylebone depot, thus transferring the maintenance of the Chiltern Lines' Class 115s to Bletchley. This ceased with the opening of a new depot in Aylesbury and the introduction of the Class 165. During 1982 the entire length of the Bletchley-Oxford section, which was still double-tracked throughout, was used for diversionary passenger services while a bridge at Hill Wooton, between Coventry and Leamington Spa was replaced; all Birmingham-London Paddington services scheduled to stop at Coventry being diverted via this route for three days.[citation needed] Also in the 1980s, there were passenger specials to Milton Keynes from Marylebone via Aylesbury and High Wycombe, which picked up passengers at disused Winslow.[2] The last passenger train to operate on this section of the line was the Mothball Tour in 1993, just before the line was taken out of use.[citation needed]

Network SouthEast, supported by Oxfordshire County Council, reopened the Oxford - Bicester Town section to passenger traffic in 1987, and reopened Islip railway station in 1989.[3]

Present status of route

Swanbourne, showing the dilapidated condition of the track there (February 2006)

Between Oxford and Bicester the line is open and in regular passenger and freight use (see Oxford to Bicester Line) but limited to 25-40 mph. Since 1951 passenger trains have operated from the former Great Western Railway Oxford station. Between Bicester and Swanbourne the track is in place but overgrown. Within this the stretch between Bicester and Claydon Junction is used for regular freight trains carrying refuse to the landfill site at Calvert. Between Swanbourne and Mursley the track has been lifted but the trackbed remains and reinstatement is technically feasible. Between Mursley[4] and Newton Longville the track is in place but overgrown. The stretch between Newton Longville and Bletchley was re-laid in spring 2006 and opened on 27 March 2006 for freight traffic, carrying refuse to the Newton Longville landfill site. Between Bletchley and Bedford the track is open and in daily passenger use as the Marston Vale Line.

Between Bedford and Cambridge all of the track has been removed and some sections of the trackbed have been lost. At Sandy and Potton new housing occupies the former route. Between Lord's Bridge and Cambridge, the Ryle Telescope of Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory now occupies a 3-mile (4.8 km) length of the former route. Between Trumpington Park and Ride and Cambridge Station the entire route is being converted to be part of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.

A further problem is the lack of through platforms at Bletchley and Bedford. The current track layout at Bletchley means that, without the proposed new high-level station, through trains would have to go around the station without stopping. Similarly, Bedford St Johns station was rebuilt on a different site, and is no longer on the through alignment towards Sandy.

Revival plans

Confirmed plans

In May 2006 the Department of Transport announced[5] specific plans for Bletchley station. The document states that "it is likely" that Bletchley area renewals and network simplification will take place by 2010, "to include a high-level platform" for Bedford trains. The network will be suitable for the later addition of any 'East-West' link to and from Oxford and for the operation of through links from either Oxford or Bedford to and from Milton Keynes.

In the expansion plans for Milton Keynes, the area around Newton Longville is to be extensively developed. A new passenger station for Newton Longville is included[6] in the "MK2031" strategic plan, with a spur to a new platform at Milton Keynes Central. An upgraded line is already in place (see above) and a simple halt would not be expensive.

On 4 December 2006, work began at Milton Keynes Central to prepare for a service connection from the Marston Vale Line, with completion scheduled for December 2008.[7][8]

Chiltern Railways has opened a new station, known as Aylesbury Vale Parkway, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of Aylesbury town station, adjacent to the A41 and the major development at Berryfields. The station opened on 14 December 2008, and the station building on 1 June 2009. Existing track, previously used only by freight trains, has been upgraded and new signalling equipment installed. This line could be extended further north to reach a rebuilt Oxford-Bletchley line at Verney Junction and Chiltern Railways has long-term aspirations to reach Milton Keynes.[9]

It has also been announced that the line between Oxford and Bicester Town railway station will be upgraded with funding from property developers as a condition of enlarging Bicester Village Shopping Centre.

In March 2008, a £2 million engineering survey into the state of the existing and removed track was launched.[10]

Prognosis

A FGW Class 165 Thames Turbo leaving Islip railway station. In 1987 Network SouthEast reopened the Oxford-Bicester line, and in 1989 Islip was reopened as a single-platform unstaffed halt.
Tubbs Crossing in the west of Bicester on the Varsity Line in 2010. It is due to be turned in to a bridge very soon for safety reasons. The line is used only by the occasional refuse train, a few spare stock movements and a roaming maintenance unit. The hedges were cut back in circa 2004 after a near-accident in 2002 and a fatality in 1999.

Hopes for a revival of the Varsity Line rested on the proposed East West Rail Link. As well as upgrading the track between Bicester and Bletchley, this scheme was aiming to construct a new 9-mile (14 km) trackbed between Bedford and Sandy on roughly the same alignment as the original. At Sandy, trains would then have joined the East Coast Main Line to Biggleswade - Arlesey - Hitchin and then switched north-east to Letchworth - Baldock - Ashwell and Morden - Royston - Meldreth - Shepreth - Foxton - Cambridge. However, a chord would have to be built to enable southbound trains from Sandy to reach the Hitchin-Cambridge branch, as the existing junction serves only northbound trains from London on to this branch. This would mean that trains would not actually stop at Hitchin and a new station might have to be built there unless another solution could be found.

However, little progress was made with the project, and development plans were further set back when, in 2001, the Strategic Rail Authority rejected the option to reopen the stretch of line between Bicester and Bletchley. Then, in April 2006, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister declared[11] itself to be in favour of the principle of re-opening the link between Bedford and Oxford but gave no indication of underwriting that opinion. Most recently, in March 2008, a £2 million engineering survey of the existing and removed tracks was launched.[10]

An alternative alignment for the line eastwards from Sandy has been proposed in order that East Coast Main Line line capacity is not affected by the new line. This would continue from Sandy to the east along the original line, skirting Sandy Warren, before heading directly east with stations at Wrestlingworth and Bassingbourn before joining the existing railway network again at Foxton.

Despite growth opportunities for the rapidly developing Oxford-Cambridge Arc, reopening of the complete Varsity Line remains uncertain. The problem of reconstructing the Bedford to Sandy route is a particular obstacle. However, hope remains that the line between Bletchley and Bicester may re-open to provide a train service between Milton Keynes Central and Oxford.

In summer 2006 it was announced[12] that, in a bid to co-host the 2012 London Olympics, a large rowing lake would be built near the former station site at Willington in Bedfordshire, in return for a licence to extract gravel. The lake would cut through the route of the trackbed between Bedford and Sandy and any subsequent bridging costs would seem to be prohibitive, especially given the uninterrupted span that would be required to avoid obstructing the lake.

In March 2007, a study (funded by the councils and other interested parties along the route) declared at p. 38, 5.1 A very good operating and business case exists for [a "base case" for a] two-trains-per-hour passenger service between Oxford and Milton Keynes, and an operating case also exists for the Aylesbury spur which would bring further economic and strategic advantages to the subregion. Capital cost for the base case is between £100m - £135m. The base case and the Aylesbury options should be further considered in the next phase of work.[13]

In January 2009 work began on clearing vegetation from the Bletchley-Claydon section of the line, to make way for a survey of the cost of reopening the line. The work is being progressed by Milton Keynes Partnership, with the intention of resuming passenger services between Oxford and Bedford via Milton Keynes Central "in three or four years".[14]

In March 2008, those undertaking the engineering survey stated that a 100 mph link between Oxford and Bletchley could be achieved for around £190 million. Assuming construction was to start in 2009 as they then hoped, the upgraded / re-opened line could be in service by 2012.[10]

In April 2008, the Department for Transport responded to an e-petition for support by reiterating that they would encourage private funding.[15]

The Varsity Line and the lines it meets. Disused or freight-only sections are in blue.

Future stations

  • Water Eaton Parkway - opening 2013
  • Newton Longville - proposed
  • Weston Otmoor - proposed

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Awdry (1990) p. 63
  2. ^ http://www.railcar.co.uk/features/quaintonian.htm
  3. ^ Bevan, Alan (Ed). A-Z of Rail Reopenings. Warwick: Railway Development Society. ISBN 0 901283 13 4. 
  4. ^ Bridge at grid reference SP813306 on Whaddon/Mursley road, observed 31 July 2005
  5. ^ West Coast Main Line: Progress Report May 2006 (3MB PDF file)
  6. ^ MK2031 summary but see also MK2031 3.42 to 3.50
  7. ^ Transport Briefing — UK transport news, data and jobs
  8. ^ "New rail platform on time for 2008". MK News (Milton Keynes). 13 December 2006. http://www.mk-news.co.uk/mknews-news/displayarticle.asp?id=38404. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  9. ^ Network Rail 2006 Business Plan.
  10. ^ a b c Little, Reg (7 March 2008). "MK Rail Link Plan On Track". The Oxford Times. http://www.theoxfordtimes.net/news/headlines/display.var.2099658.0.mk_rail_link_plan_on_track.php. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  11. ^ "Green light for rail link". Milton Keynes Citizen. 18 April 2006. http://www.mkcitizen.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=1448936. Retrieved 2008-04-27. [dead link]
  12. ^ "'Olympic lake' backed by planners". BBC News Online (London). 20 July 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/5197422.stm. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  13. ^ "Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) Stage 2 Report Final Report" (Press release). East West Rail. 1 February 2007. http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/reports/documents/GRIPStage2Report.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 
  14. ^ Marsh, Phil (March 2009). Pigott, Nick. ed. "Headline News: East-West Rail Link work gets underway". The Railway Magazine (London) 155 (1295): 10. ISSN 0033-8923. 
  15. ^ "East-west-rail - epetition reply". http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15235.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-27. 

Coordinates: 51°58′05″N 0°49′05″W / 51.968°N 0.818°W / 51.968; -0.818

Sources

  • Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
  • Simpson, Bill. The Oxford To Cambridge Railway: Forty Years On 1960-2000. Witney: Lamplight Publications. ISBN 1899246053. OCLC 54047797. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Varsity — may refer to:In geography: *Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *Varsity Lakes, Queensland, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia *Varsity View, Saskatoon, a neighbourhood in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CanadaIn …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Bus Company — #1099 deadheads through Brooklyn. Headquarters 626 Wortman Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11208 Locale New York City Service type …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Arena — is an arena in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 275 Bloor Street West retrieved from http://rrs.osm.utoronto.ca 2007 10 22] and is primarily home to the ice hockey teams of the University of Toronto, the Varsity Blues, though it also hosted the …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Lakes railway station, Queensland — Citytrain Station station name=Varsity Lakes region=Gold Coast servicearea1=Gold Coast IB1=Robina OB1=terminus street=Coromandel Lane suburb=Varsity Lakes zone=16 distance=89.4 platforms= platform arch= access= trainconnect= busconnect= tvm=… …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Show — The Varsity Show is one of the oldest traditions at Columbia University and certainly its oldest performing arts presentation. Founded in 1894 as a fundraiser for the university s fledgling athletic teams, the Varsity Show now draws together the… …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Lakes, Queensland — Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb name = Varsity Lakes city = Gold Coast state = Queensland caption = lga = Gold Coast City postcode = 4227 est = pop = 11,796 area = propval = stategov = Robina, Burleigh fedgov = Moncrieff near nw = Robina …   Wikipedia

  • Varsity Blues (film) — Infobox Film name = Varsity Blues caption = Theatrical release poster director = Brian Robbins writer = W. Peter Iliff starring = James Van Der Beek, Amy Smart, Paul Walker, Ali Larter, Jon Voight, Scott Caan, Tiffany C. Love producer = Brian… …   Wikipedia

  • Marston Vale Line — Overview Type Heavy rail System National Rail Status Operational Locale Buckinghamshire Bedfordshire …   Wikipedia

  • Chiltern Main Line — Chiltern Railways Clubman at West Ruislip Overview Type Commuter rail, Heavy rail S …   Wikipedia

  • Metropolitan line — Metropolitan Colour on map Magenta Year opened 1863 Line type Sub Surface Rolling stock A Stock and S Stock 8 carriages pe …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”