Non-Technical Summary - Chiltern Evergreen3

EVERGREEN 3Scheme AlternativesBetween 1996 and 2003, studies were undertaken byChiltern Railways of three alternative heavy rail routeoptions (these were the ‘Chinnor Branch’, the ‘SouthernCorridor’ and the ‘Northern Corridor’). The aim was to finda route that met Chiltern Railways’s strategic objectivesand which gave either a through rail link between Oxfordand the Chiltern Line or access to Oxford via aParkway station.The Chinnor Branch option was dropped at an earlystage due to a lack of stakeholder support and low trafficpotential. The Southern and Northern Corridors wereevaluated in a report by Chiltern Railways to the thenStrategic Rail Authority in February 2003. The conclusionof these strategic studies was that the Northern Route hadthe following benefits over other options.• The level of new construction would besignificantly less.• The proposed Water Eaton Parkway station wouldform a railhead for car users from north/eastOxford and north/west Oxfordshire, and hasexcellent bus links to the city centre and hospitals.It is also close to Kidlington, which would providesignificant rail traffic.• Significant extra revenue would result fromimproving the Bicester Town to Oxfordcommuter service.• Upgrading the line between Bicester and Oxford wouldfacilitate the East West Rail route, which has been a keypublic transport objective for the relevant localauthorities since the 1970s.The 2003 report demonstrated that the Northern Corridorhad a higher Benefit Cost Ratio than the Southern Corridor,and subsequent work therefore concentrated on theNorthern Corridor as the Preferred Option.Preferred Optionand its RefinementA number of alternatives relating to the Northern Corridorhave also been considered in the development of theScheme, including three options for the parkway station;strategic consultations were undertaken of these options.Once the route corridor and stations were decided, anumber of alternative configurations for the stationlayouts, crossing points and other features were developedand consulted on. The consideration of the alternativestook into account engineering, property and environmentalfactors and resulted in the Scheme proposed in the TWAOApplication. Details of the alternatives considered are setout in the Environmental Statement.Oxford: two routes for a 21st century service8 EVERGREEN3 WWW.CHILTERN-EVERGREEN3.CO.UK