Rail minister Lord Hendy has assured city council leaders he is "acutely aware" of the disruption caused by the Botley Road closure which a local MP has slammed as "shambolic".
The road has been closed at the rail bridge since April last year as part of a £161m scheme to revamp Oxford rail station.
In July Network Rail announced the road will not reopen as planned at the end of October, and a series of options for the scheme are now being investigated.
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The Department for Transport, Network Rail, contractors Kier and the county council are expected to make an announcement later this month on how the scheme will move forward.
Lord Hendy, the rail minister, has now responded to concerns outlined by city council leader Susan Brown.
(Image: ROGER HARRIS/Wikimedia Commons) He spoke out after city councillor Susanna Pressel revealed some residents were "deeply depressed" by the continuing road closure.
Lord Hendy assured the council his officials will "press Network Rail closely as it continues to produce a robust plan for completion of the Botley Road bridge works and the wider Oxford station enhancement project".
He outlined a series of improvements including:
• Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR) will implement a joint plan to provide additional experienced staff to support people with reduced mobility
• A dedicated GWR-branded assisted travel meeting point will be established to the west of the Botley Road works, where staff will be available to assist those needing help
• Passengers requiring assistance will be escorted from the meeting point to the main station entrance and platform by trained staff
• Improvements tolighting, and access around the station area are being developed
• The towpath under Sheepwash Bridge has been reopened by Network Rail
• The Botley Flyer shuttle service has been increased to five days a week (Monday-Friday), with additional waiting areas on the west side of Botley Road
• Further improvements will be assessed as long as the closure continues.
(Image: Oxford Mail) Susan Brown, leader of the city council, said: "I am very grateful to Lord Hendy for his swift and positive response to my letter to the new government asking for their assistance on behalf of the residents and businesses of Oxford to get the Botley Road open again as soon as possible.
“We welcome the improvements which he has initiated in the meantime and the pressure that he and his office are bringing to help speed up the work."
Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has arranged ameeting with Lord Hendy about the project delays.
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In a response to a letter of concern from Jericho resident John Mair, Ms Moran wrote: "This project has been utterly shambolic. As yet I have not been given any information as to when the works will finish, which is wholly unacceptable.
"I have secured a meeting with both the Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy and have requested a meeting with the Network Rail CEO.
"The people who live and work here deserve answers and far greater transparency over how this whole project has been run.
"The key question I will be asking in these meetings is for a completion date, as well as what mitigations they are going to put in place given the extended closure of Botley Road.
"I have repeatedly asked for what compensation will be offered to the community. Network Rail have consistently pushed back on this as they have not been allocated funding for this."
Ms Moran added in the letter: "Our community not only have suffered over a year of disruption already but are being asked to put up with an undefined further delay to this project."
Improvements at the rail station include providing a new rail bridge, and a new western entrance. A new platform will improve East West Rail links.
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About the author
Andyis the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
Hejoinedthe team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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