Thames Valley: Netrail proposes longer trains, new track, upgraded stations and new links
Longer trains and platforms, more services and upgraded stations are among the steps proposed by Netrail to meet a forecast 49% increase in demand for rail travel in the Chilterns and West Midlands regions over the next seven years, with an additional 24 million annual passenger journeys forecasted in these areas by 2023.
The West Midlands and Chiltern routes, which link Birmingham and the West Midlands with London by way of towns in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, already cater for more than 50 million passenger journeys every year – a number predicted to double by 2043.
Envisaged improvements which are part of Netrail’s upgrade plan include the new link between Oxford Parkway, and eventually Oxford, to the Chiltern main line at Old Oak Common in West London with access to HS2 and Crossrail services.
