The closures could impede several events and the plans of students arriving in Oxford ahead of the start of Michaelmas term. The central University will inform new and returning students, however, colleges and departments are encouraged to let potentially affected students know. They are planned for the following dates:
- Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September
- Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 September - track work cancelled on these dates only.
- Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September
- Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October
No train services will be running to or from Oxford Station on these days. The service on other days of the week will not be affected.
Train operators are planning rail replacement bus services, but advise travelers to allow plenty of time for their journey and check their planned route carefully before setting off, making sure that the information on any journey planner websites used is up to date and that they understand where temporary bus stops are located - in some cases these are a short distance from the station they are serving.
GWR, which is responsible for most services out of Oxford Station, will be running rail replacement bus services between Didcot Parkway, Oxford and Hanborough. You can find more information about the impact on services and the planned replacement buses on the company's website.
There will also be rail replacement buses for customers of Chiltern Railways and Cross Country, although these have not yet been announced in detail. A regular bus service between Oxford and Oxford Parkway is planned.
The University is in regular contact with Network Rail, local authorities and train operating companies and will share more information on the closures as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, the Oxford Corridor Phase 2 page of the Network Rail website is expected to be updated in due course.
The upgrade work taking place in September and October are part of the initial stage of Network Rail's planned improvements to the station which are designed to increase its capacity so that it can accommodate more trains and passengers in future. They will include a new platform, a new secondary entrance to the station, and an upgrade of the rail bridge over the Botley Road - this will greatly improve access for pedestrians and cyclists, and will also raise the bridge so that standard double-decker buses will be able to pass beneath it for the first time.
