Key Oxfordshire railway line closed for urgent bridge repairs

Great Western Railway has announced the closure of a major Oxfordshire railway line on Tuesday (April 4) due to urgent repairs. Due to urgent repairs to a bridge between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, the line has been closed. A spokesperson for GWR has said that following a safety inspection of a railway viaduct between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, the railway has been closed to allow emergency repairs to take place.

Closures are expected to last for ‘at least’ the rest of the day. Despite trains being cancelled, limited Rail Replacement Transport is in operation between Didcot Parkway and Oxford. However, the replacement transport may not be running at the same time as trains and journeys on this replacement transport will take longer.

An update on the GWR website reads: “Were sorry for the disruption to your journey today. Following a safety inspection of a railway viaduct between Didcot Parkway and Oxford the railway has been closed to allow emergency repairs to take place. “While we are unable to run trains limited Rail Replacement Transport is in operation between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, some services will run direct between the two and some will call at Appleford, Culham and Radley.

Please wait at the appropriate bus pick up point shown on the Onward Travel Information posters. The replacement transport may not be running at the same time as trains and journeys on this replacement transport will take longer.” To help passengers complete their journey, the company has ticket acceptance with other train companies:

Chiltern Railways between Oxford and London Marylebone.

Your ticket will be accepted by London Underground on Bakerloo line services between Marylebone and Paddington.
West Midlands Railway, CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast between Worcester Stations and London Euston via Birmingham New Street.

Your ticket will be accepted by London Underground on the Circle line and Hammersmith & City line between Euston Square and Paddington.
CrossCountry between Worcestershire Parkway and Cheltenham Spa and Bristol Parkway.

Change at Cheltenham Spa or Bristol Parkway for GWR services to London Paddington
Transport for Wales between Hereford and Newport, where you can change for GWR services to London Paddington.

Train tickets will also be accepted on the following local bus routes:

Thames Travel route X2 between Oxford (Station) and Didcot Parkway.
Thames Travel route X32 between Oxford (City Centre) and Didcot Parkway.
Stagecoach route S6 between Oxford (Frideswide Square) and Swindon (Bus Station).
Stagecoach route S3 between Oxford (Station), Combe (Stonesfield Road) and Charlbury (Sturt Close).
Stagecoach route S7 between Oxford (Station) and Hanborough (Main road near station).

References

^ Oxford city centre roads cordoned off by police after ‘device placed’ in Broad Street (www.oxfordshirelive.co.uk)