GALLERY: Oxford Parkway station opens launching new trains to London

The new £320m rail line linking Oxford and London has opened in a deal between operator Chiltern Railways and Network Rail.

Chiltern and Network Rail have spent a combined total of £320 million on the line, which will be plumbed into the main Oxford station next year and gives people travelling to London from Oxford the option of arriving somewhere other than Paddington.

The new track is the first linking a major city to London for more than 100 years.

A new rail link between Oxford and London has opened.

Rob Brighouse, Chiltern Railways managing director said: “I’m absolutely delighted to unveil the station and it’s tremendously exciting for us as we’ve been working on this project for 10 years”. It has been built with 1,500 parking spaces in a bid to tempt motorists to use the service, which reaches London in just under an hour.

The line also stops at Bicester to serve the Bicester Village shopping centre, a place lucky enough to have a rebuilt station along this new line.

Mr Cameron said the new line meant “there will be more trains, faster journey times and better transport links for people living and working here”.

Ken Hand, 72, from Kidlington, has followed the project from the beginning and said: “I came down to see the very first train leave for the station for London as I see it as a pretty momentous moment”.

He said: “My son is on half term, and because our home is right behind the station I thought this would be a great thing for us to do”.

There will also be more trains running to Wembley Stadium from Oxford Parkway later this afternoon for the National Football League clash between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.