Varsity Line

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

Although not listed in the original Beeching report, the line from Oxford via Bletchley and Bedford to Cambridge was closed at the end of 1967.

The line forms a major portion of the proposed East West Rail Link (a project to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England) and its present status presents a significant obstacle to the realisation of such a plan.

Historic route

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

Present status of route

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

From Oxford to Bicester, the track remains open and in regular passenger and freight use (see Oxford to Bicester Line). Since 1951 passenger trains have started from the former Great Western Railway Oxford station. From Bicester to Swanborne, the track is in place but overgrown. Within this the stretch between Bicester and Claydon Junction is used for regular freight trains full of refuse bound for the landfill site at Calvert . From Swanbourne to Mursley, the track has been lifted, but the trackbed remains and makes reinstatement feasible. From there1 to Newton Longville, the track is in place but overgrown. The stretch from Newton Longville to Bletchley was re-laid in spring 2006 and opened on 27 March 2006 for freight traffic, again of refuse for the Newton Longville landfill site. From Bletchley to 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. At Lord's Bridge near Cambridge the Ryle Telescope of Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory now occupies a 4.8 km (three mile) length of the former route.

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[1] 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 the 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[2] in the "MK2031" strategic plan, with a spur to a new platform at Milton Keynes Central railway station. 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.[3][4]

Chiltern Railways have announced that a new station, known as Aylesbury Vale Parkway, will be built 3 miles north west of Aylesbury town station, adjacent to the A41 and the major development at Berryfields. The existing track, currently only used by freight trains, will be upgraded and new signalling equipment will be installed. This line could be extended further north to reach a rebuilt Oxford-Bletchley line at Verney Junction and Chiltern Railways have long term aspirations to reach Milton Keynes[5].

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

Prognosis

Hopes for a revival of the Varsity Line rested on the proposed East West Rail Link. As well as upgrading the track from Bicester to Bletchley, this scheme was aiming to construct a new 9-mile 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 little progress was made with the project and development plans were further dashed when, in 2001, the Strategic Rail Authority rejected the option to reopen the stretch of line between Bicester and Bletchley. More recently (April 2006) the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister reported[6] itself to be in favour of the principle of re-opening the link to Oxford but gave no indication of underwriting that opinion. The imminence of local elections may not be entirely irrelevant.

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 alignment 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 the development opportunities for the fast-growing Oxford-Cambridge Arc, it is unlikely that the Varsity Line can be revived within the next 20 years. The problem of reconstrucing the Bedford to Sandy route is a particular obstacle. However, hope remains alive that the line between Bletchley and Bicester may re-open to provide an Oxford to Milton Keynes Central train service.

Unfortunately in summer 2006 it was announced[7] 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 will 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.

See also

Further reading

  • Bill Simpson - The Oxford To Cambridge Railway: Forty Years On 1960-2000 ISBN 1-899246-05-3

External links

References

  1. ↑ WEST COAST MAIN LINE: PROGRESS REPORT May 2006 (3MB PDF file)
  2. ↑ MK2031 summary but see also MK2031 3.42 to 3.50
  3. ↑ http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=3598
  4. ↑ http://www.mk-news.co.uk/news/milton%20keynes/2006/dec/6/new%20rail%20platform%20on%20time%20for%202008.lpf
  5. ↑ Network Rail 2006 Business Plan
  6. ↑ http://www.mkcitizen.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=415&ArticleID=1448936
  7. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/5197422.stm

Notes

Note 1: Bridge at grid reference SP813306 on Whaddon/Mursley road, observed 31/7/2005

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