Some of our local councillors in Bicester appear to be of the view that there are no plans to close London Road level crossing.  Network Rail have also ignored the level crossing in all of their consultations for Phase 2 of East West Rail. But running at least 3x as many trains from 2023 (with the prospect of more to come in future) will effectively close the crossing anyway.

Well it seems at last that the elephant in the room is not going to be ignored. Langford Village residents have been pushing for clarity on the issue and are objecting to EWR2. In the Oxford Mail last week it emerged that  Councillors pledge to push for London Road level crossing funding.

The funding would presumably allow an accessible route into town to be maintained whilst removing the conflict between road and rail at the level crossing. Whilst it is not necessarily clear what exactly is being asked for, it does seem that things could be moving forwards at last. As I have said previously, closing the crossing permanently appears not to be funded. A replacement bridge or tunnel at London Road could cost more than £60 million, but it remains to be seen if that is the preferred solution here.