Cherwell Valley Line

Cherwell Valley Line

Legend Chiltern Main Line to Leamington Spa 34⅓ Banbury former Verney Junction Branch M40 motorway 30½ Kings Sutton former Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway M40 motorway 29⅓ Aynho Junction Chiltern Main Line to Bicester North Aynho Fritwell & Somerton Oxford Canal 23⅛ Heyford 19½ Tackley Bletchington former Shipton cement works former Blenheim & Woodstock branch line Kidlington Oxford Canal former Buckinghamshire Junction Railway 13¼ Cotswold Line to Worcester Duke's Cut A34 Oxford Western Bypass (Wolvercote Viaduct) Wolvercot Platform 11⅜ Oxford North Junction: Oxford to Bicester Line Sheepwash Channel 10⅜ Oxford Former gas works Osney Railway Bridge over River Thames Oxford (Grandpont) station Hinksey Halt former Millstream Junction Abingdon Road Halt A423 Oxford Southern Bypass 8⅓ Kennington Jct: Mini factory • Wycombe Railway 5¼ Radley Abingdon Junction Abingdon Jct with former Abingdon Railway Nuneham Railway Bridge over River Thames Culham Cutting 3⅓ Culham Appleford Railway Bridge over River Thames 2⅓ Appleford Gravel pits ⅞ Didcot North Junction Didcot Railway Centre 0⅓ Didcot Parkwayon GW Main Line ( Swindon – Reading )

The Cherwell Valley Line is the railway line between Didcot and Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands. The line follows the River Cherwell for much of its route between Oxford and Banbury.

Current and former stations served

• Banbury, formerly called Banbury Bridge Street
• Kings Sutton
• Former station at Aynho for Deddington
• Former station at Fritwell & Somerton
• Heyford, formerly called Lower Heyford
• Tackley
• Former station for Bletchington, previously called Kirtlington
• Former station at Kidlington previously called Woodstock Road
• Former halt at Wolvercot Platform
• Oxford
• Former halt at Hinksey
• Former halt at Abingdon Road
• Radley
• Former station at Abingdon Junction
• Culham, formerly called Abingdon Road
• Appleford
• Didcot Parkway, formerly called Didcot

The former station for Bletchingdon was always spelt "Bletchington", which is an alternative spelling for that village's toponym. The former halt at Wolvercote was called "Wolvercot Platform", with a deliberately different spelling of the village's name, to distinguish it from the London and North Western Railway's nearby Wolvercote Halt.

Services

Passenger services are provided by CrossCountry and Great Western Railway. GWR markets the local service between Oxford and Banbury the Oxford Canal Line.

The line carries a large and increasing volume of freight between the Port of Southampton and the English Midlands, much of it in container trains run by Freightliner.

Tilting

With the exception of the West Coast Main Line, this route is the only route on which domestic UK trains can tilt, something of which Virgin CrossCountry took advantage on trains from the WCML to Reading and beyond, using SuperVoyager trains that can tilt.^[1]

CrossCountry's new operator, Arriva, does not run much on the WCML, and considers it not worthwhile to activate the tilt mechanism for the short stretch of the Cherwell Valley line. For this reason many SuperVoyagers have been transferred to Virgin West Coast, who can use their tilting ability on the WCML. The majority of CrossCountry services on the Cherwell Valley line are now worked by standard non-tilting Voyager trains, and any remaining tilting Voyagers have had their tilt function disabled to improve reliability and cut costs.

River Thames

The line makes three crossings of the River Thames between Oxford and Didcot:

• Osney Rail Bridge
• Nuneham Railway Bridge
• Appleford Railway Bridge

Electrification

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000.^[2] Some of these options would have included the whole Cherwell Valley line and the Banbury–Birmingham section of what is now the Chiltern Main Line plus the Coventry to Leamington line.^[2] The 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government did not implement the proposal.

Under plans for the Great Western Electrification project announced in July 2009, the Cherwell Valley Line will be electrified from Didcot as far as Oxford.^[3]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cherwell Valley Line.

Railway lines in the South East
Primary	International High Speed 1 (Ashford • Ebbsfleet) National Great Western Main Line (Slough • Maidenhead • Reading • Didcot Parkway) West Coast Main Line (Watford Junction • Milton Keynes Central)
Secondary	Berks/Bucks/Oxon to London Aylesbury Line Chiltern Main Line Waterloo to Reading Line (and in Surrey) Windsor & Eton Riverside Line (and in Surrey) Crossrail (under construction) (and past London to Essex) Kent to London Bexleyheath Line Chatham Main Line Dartford Loop Line Kent Coast Line Maidstone Line Medway Valley Line North Kent Line Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) Line Sheerness Line South Eastern Main Line Tonbridge Line (and in Surrey) Surrey/Sussex/Hants to London Ascot to Guildford Line Alton Line Arun Valley Line Brighton Main Line Caterham Line Fareham Line Hampton Court Branch Line Hastings Line (and in Kent) Chertsey Branch Line Epsom Downs Branch New Guildford Line Oxted Line (and in Kent) Portsmouth Direct Line Shepperton Branch Line South Western Main Line Sutton and Mole Valley Lines Tattenham Corner Line Thameslink (and past London to Beds/Herts) West of England Main Line Others Cherwell Valley Line Cotswold Line Eastleigh to Romsey Line East Coastway Line (inc Marshlink Line) Henley Branch Line Island Line Lymington Branch Line Marlow Branch Line Marston Vale Line North Downs Line Oxford to Bicester Line Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line Reading to Taunton Line West Coastway Line Wessex Main Line Slough to Windsor & Eton Line Reading to Basingstoke Line Seaford Branch Line
Heritage	Bluebell Railway Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway Cholsey & Wallingford Railway East Kent Railway Isle of Wight Steam Railway Kent and East Sussex Railway Lavender Line Spa Valley Railway Watercress Line
Non-passenger/ Defunct	Hundred of Hoo Railway Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway