THE key stage of a major modernisation project on an Oxfordshire railway line has been completed on schedule.

Chiltern Railways and Railtrack have reinstated double track between Bicester North station and Aynho junction, near Banbury.

The second track was removed in the late 1960s as part of a cost-cutting drive on the route by British Rail.

In 1998 Chiltern Railways and Railtrack reinstated the second track between Princes Risborough and Bicester.

The new track will eliminate delays between Bicester and Aynho, caused by trains having to wait until an oncoming train cleared the single line.

The single-track section from Bicester to Aynho accounted for about a third of delays on Chiltern Railways' services between London and Birmingham via Haddenham, Bicester, Kings Sutton and Banbury. The finishing touches to the work will be completed by August.

Services are back to normal after a 17-day closure when coaches replaced trains between Bicester and Banbury and trains ran to Oxford for connections for London.

Chiltern's general manager, Steve Murphy, said: "Everybody involved made a magnificent contribution, from Railtrack engineers, who worked through the night, to Chiltern Railways staff, who put in extra hours to ensure passengers were able to travel to their destinations.

"We thank them for their patience. The benefits they experience from August will make it all worthwhile."

Some late-night and weekend trains will be replaced by buses until August.