A NEW rail link between Oxford and London will see 550 cars taken off the roads as drivers switch to the train, it has been claimed.

Train operator Chiltern Railways has submitted plans to the Government to create a new route between Oxford and London Marylebone via Bicester.

If the scheme gets approval, Oxford to Marylebone journeys will take 66 minutes.

A new station at Water Eaton, near Kidlington, will offer journey times to the capital of just under an hour.

The rail firm predicts there could be 550 less car journeys in peak travel times by 2016.

Chiltern Railways senior development manager Allen Dare said rail commuting between Bicester and Oxford would be much easier once the new scheme was in place, and that the new rail link would have an impact on traffic on the A34.

He said: “By 2016, our computer models forecast an additional 1,200 rail journeys in the morning peak hour, 8am to 9am, across north Oxfordshire.

“We expect that 45 per cent of this will be transferred from cars. There will thus be around 550 less car journeys across north Oxfordshire in the peak hour by 2016.”

The proposed rail link has been welcomed by the Oxford branch of Friends of the Earth.

Spokesman Sam Clarke said: “Any new lines and stations are likely to be good news for travellers and the environment.

“If they can start reducing traffic, especially those single passenger journeys typical of car commuters, this has got to be an important advance.

“I think their claims are credible and to be supported.”

Ian Hudspeth, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said with thousands of new homes due to be built across the county, better transport links were needed. He added: “The council supports Chiltern Railway’s plans in principle but inevitably a major scheme such as this will have a number of secondary effects on the environment and the people of Oxfordshire.

“We are looking closely at the details of the application before deciding on our formal response.”

Dr Ian East, of Oxford Bicester Rail Action Group, said he was sceptical about Chiltern’s numbers, but believed the new link could ease road congestion.

He added: “It certainly should take some of the pressure of roads from Bicester to Oxford, which at the moment are saturated.

“We certainly take the position it’s going to be of high value for Bicester. No bus service can come close to this — what’s needed around the county is more rail.”