Railways of Oxford

Book excerpt: An authoritative history of the railways of Oxford and how they transformed the United Kingdom, from the mid-nineteenth century to the twenty-first. In Railways of Oxford, historian Laurence Waters looks at the development of services and operations from Great Western’s opening of the Oxford Railway in 1844 through to the present day. This volume covers the development of the railway locally, including the London and North Western ‘Buckinghamshire Railway’ from Bletchley, together with the five local branch lines. The opening of the Great Western / Great Central joint line in 1900 opened up regional travel across the United Kingdom. During the Second World War, the construction of a new junction at Oxford North created a direct link from the Great Western to the London Midland & Scottish Railway branch to Bletchley and beyond. These two junctions turned Oxford into a major railway center, bringing a considerable increase in both passenger and freight traffic. Today, Oxford is as busy as ever, with passenger services to London operated by Great Western Railway and Chiltern Trains, and by Cross Country Trains the South and the North of England.