East West Rail: ‘They’re going to kill Bicester’

East West Rail will eventually link Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keynes and Bedford, with the Oxford to Milton Keynes section due to open next year.

The government confirmed its support for the project in the Autumn Budget.

It said the scheme would “boost the Oxford-Cambridge economy by GBP6.7bn per year by 2050”.

However, Ms Collins said the closure of the London Road crossing could cause Bicester shops to fold.

Another exhibition visitor, Andy Wallace from Langford, said: “It’s going to stop a lot of people from where I live travelling into the centre.”

Annmarie Godwin from Bicester said it would “cut the town in half”.