'YES!' says Colin Cook, executive member for city development. "I think Oxford railway station should be moved and with the electrification of the railways between 2014 and 2016, Oxford has perhaps its last and best opportunity to do this.
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If the station did move to Oxpens, it would provide a perfect new gateway into the city centre through the Westgate Centre, once the shopping centre is redeveloped.

Oxford station needs the platform capacity to cope with an increase in freight and the number of services that are being provided.

Now Reading station is being updated, Oxford is the next bottleneck on the line that needs to be addressed. As First Great Western’s franchise is up for renewal, it is keen to invest in better facilities.

Moving the station would be a multi-million pound enterprise but it could be worth it because it could change the face of Oxford forever.

The Government has not yet ruled out injecting funds into moving Oxford station, so it remains a possibility.

Moving the station would give us the opportunity for a bus and rail interchange and that would mean that another use could be found for the bus station at Gloucester Green."

'MAYBE' says Sushila Dhall, chairman of Oxford Pedestrians.

"Whether or not Oxford railway station should move is a key issue for the pedestrians’ association at the moment.

It is something we are considering very carefully and we do not yet have an official policy on this issue.

At the moment, when people arrive at Oxford station they have a rather unpleasant walk along Hythe Bridge Street to the city centre. The road is very narrow and people find themselves right next to the traffic.

One possibility would be to close Hythe Bridge Street to through traffic but that’s a rather radical proposal and I don’t think that’s an option at the moment.

The railway station is in a reasonable position as there is a drop-off car park that is rarely full, a taxi rank, buses and the city centre is within walking distance.

But if the station is going to move to Oxpens, then we would want to ensure the links to the city centre are pedestrian-friendly.

That would mean the provision of a number of pedestrian crossings across Oxpens Road and that would go against the county council’s policy of keeping the traffic flowing."