Botley Road closure concerns expressed by bus company Stagecoach

Last year Network Rail and the county council announced that the busy road would close for a year from January 9 at the rail bridge, so that a major revamp of the rail station could take place.

But at the end of the year Network Rail then scrapped the start date for the year-long closure, and said new talks would take place to decide the best way forward.

READ AGAIN: Botley Road closure start date is scrapped 

The talks between the rail authority, the county council and the Department for Transport, are still ongoing and no new start date has been given for the Botley Road closure.

The S1, S6 and S9 services would be affected by the Botley Road closure, together with Oxford Bus Company's city4A service, which runs from Westminster Way, Botley to the High Street.

Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director for Stagecoach West, said: "We remain concerned about the impact of the Botley Road closure on the Oxford City bus network.

"Once the new arrangements have been confirmed by Network Rail, we will work alongside Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford Bus Company to minimise the disruption to our customers as much as possible.

"Changes to our services will be shared in good time to allow customers to plan ahead."

As part of the proposals to close Botley Road at the rail bridge, a turning circle for buses will have to be created.

In order to make room for the turning circle, Station Grill and a building behind it will have to be demolished.

But demolition has not yet taken place and David Paull, a spokesman for contractors Kier, said work was 'on pause' as talks continued between Network Rail, the county counciil and the Department for Transport.

READ AGAIN: Why Botley Road will not be closing for a year

A county council spokesman said bus companies were being consulted about the Botley Road closure, and kept up to date with the ongoing talks.

Oxford Bus Company managing director Luke Marion said: "We are awaiting an update on the planned works from Network Rail.

"Once we receive this we will, along with all key stakeholders, endeavour to ensure the best possible solution for our passengers and colleagues is agreed.

"Unfortunately, until that stage is reached it is not possible to provide a clear update on how services may be impacted."

The closure options

Network Rail said last year it wanted to close Botley Road at the rail bridge  fo a year so that work in advance of station improvements could go ahead in one phase.

Work includes re-routing utility cables, replacing the Botley Road rail bridge, and starting to build a new western entrance to the station. The youth hostel next to the station is to be demolished.

Now a year-long closure appears to have been ruled out.

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City and county councillor Susanna Pressel was told that a possible or likely scenario was for the road to be closed from March to August/September 2023, then for four to six months in the middle of 2024.

The rail bridge would be replaced during this time.

Mr Paull said earlier: "Discussions will take place between Network Rail, the county council and the Department for Transport in the next couple of weeks.

"When the decision comes we will give people plenty of notice - we are conscious of the fact we had a false start.

"We need to make sure we get this right, giving people enough time and enough notice."

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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF