Chiltern Railways has been given the green light to build a new rail line between Oxford and London. Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin granted permission under the Transport & Works Act for Chiltern to start work on the line and services will run between London Marylebone and Oxford from 2015.

This £130m project will bring Chiltern’s total investment in the line to £600m since the start of its franchise.

As part of the project, Chiltern Railways will build new stations in Bicester and in north Oxford. The new parkway station in north Oxford will be at Water Eaton and will be a multi-modal interchange, linking trains, buses, cars and bikes allowing passengers to avoid the congestion of central Oxford. Bicester Town station will also be redeveloped providing a gateway to the town next to the Bicester Village retail park.