Environmental Statement volume 4 - Chiltern Evergreen3

C1.2.1Routes via the Bicester Military Railway or the Arncott ChordThese would have obviated the need for the chord line in Bicester, and insteadcrossed open country and/or Ministry of Defence land. One option wouldmake use of the Bicester Military Railway where appropriate, but securityconsiderations and the need to significantly remodel the Military Railway forfrequent passenger services made this unattractive. A second option wasbased on an independent alignment via Arncott, but high capital costs (£61mvs £47m)and the inability to carry Bicester-Oxford traffic gave this option apoorer Benefit:Cost ratio (1.27 vs 1.60) than the route via the Bicester Chord.Neither of these options were progressed further.C1.2.2Bicester Connecting Line AlignmentThe new connecting line (the Bicester Chord) runs from a point on the existingBicester to Claydon Junction line (to the north of Bicester on the section oftrack between Bicester Town and Winslow just east of Tubbs Land crossing) toa point on the London to Birmingham line just north of the bridge which runsover the ring road. This alignment is on land that has been identified forrailway use in the Cherwell Non Statutory Local Plan 2011 (published in 2004and approved by Cherwell District Council as interim planning policy fordevelopment control purposes) and in a planning permission for housing onthe adjacent land.C1.2.3Flying Junction at BicesterConsideration was given to laying out the Bicester Chord so as to give a“flying junction” with the Chiltern main line, thereby eliminating conflictingmovements at Wretchwick Junction. A single track for northbound trainswould be located on the west side of the Chiltern main line; a separate line forsouthbound trains would leave the East-West route adjacent to the bridgeunder the Chiltern line, and then curve round on the east side of the Chilternline before meeting a junction near the road bridge. Design studies showedthat securing an effective alignment for this latter line would be difficult,whilst performance simulations demonstrated that the potential conflicts atWretchwick Junction would be acceptable.C1.2.4Sheepwash Channel Swing BridgeThis bridge used to carry the rail tracks over the Sheepwash Channel that ledto the Rewley Road Station, and has since been scheduled as an AncientMonument. CRCL’s favoured option for crossing the Sheepwash Channel isto enlarge the present railway bridge over the waterway bringing it closer tothe swing bridge. Liaison with the Oxford Preservation Trust and the RailwayHeritage Trust will continue to identify ways in which to promote the historicnature of the swing bridge.ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENTC6CHILTERN RAILWAYS