The centrepiece of the Evergreen 3 project is the introduction of a new
London Marylebone - High Wycombe - Oxford service by 2013, which will
require the construction of a chord at Bicester and reinstatement of a
second track between Bicester and Oxford. A new park and ride station
will also be constructed at Water Eaton north of Oxford.
London Marylebone - High Wycombe - Oxford service by 2013, which will
require the construction of a chord at Bicester and reinstatement of a
second track between Bicester and Oxford. A new park and ride station
will also be constructed at Water Eaton north of Oxford.
More than
80km of track between London and Banbury will be upgraded for 160km/h
running, which will allow the fastest journey times between Marylebone
and Birmingham Moor Street to be cut from 1h 57min to 1h 32min.
All
of the construction planned under Evergreen 3 will be carried out by
main contractor BAM Nuttall with partners Jarvis and Atkins, which will
complete the project under contract to Chiltern. The project will be
financed by infrastructure manager Network Rail, which will be
reimbursed by Chiltern over a 30-year period.
Chiltern says the
infrastructure upgrade will be supported by the introduction of
‘mainline style' trains on London - Birmingham services, the opening of
additional platforms at Birmingham Moor Street, and new fare collection
systems.
Chiltern is the only mainline passenger operator in
Britain to hold a 20 year franchise, and since 1996 it has achieved a
threefold increase in passenger journeys. The company is part of German
Rail (DB) subsidiary DB Regio.
Photo: ATOC
