A STANDOFF between unions and operators means a town’s brand new train station is still closed – two years after being built.
A transformative railway line aiming to link Oxford and Cambridge is continuing to see setbacks, leading to delayed openings of stations.
The £7 billion project by East-West Rail (EWR) aims to improve transport links for millions of residents in the region and boost economic growth.
Finished in 2024, the line between Bicester Village and Bletchley, a 36-mile journey, was due to open last year.
Currently, passengers trains are running on the tracks – except they have no passengers on board.
A series of disputes between trade unions and the operator, Chiltern Railways, have meant that the stations remain closed and only empty trains are travelling along the tracks.
The ghost-trains currently running through the station are a combination of freight trains and those used for driver training.
Currently, the only EWR trains on the new line in use are those between Oxford and Bicester Village.
Winslow is one of the towns located on the Bicester Village to Bletchley line that has been affected by the closures.
The £5 million station was completed back in 2024, but has remained closed amid the rows.
It’s opening has also been delayed by concerns raised over the platform length at the station which are going to have to be extended to accommodate the number of travelers.
Both setbacks have frustrated local residents.
A local told the The Telegraph, that the exasperating delays have caused “difficult and annoying delays” for her daughter who has to travel to Oxford to work.
They said that the delays indicate that Britain “doesn’t work like it used to”, and believe a situation like this would “never” have occurred when they were a youngster.
The cause of the row boils down to who operates the doors.
Chiltern Railways, the operator, beleive that the train line should run as a driver-only operation (DOO) meaning that only the train driver is in charge of opening and closing the doors and no guards are required.
They are in a standoff with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, who represent train guards.
The back-and-forth between the two parties means that plans to continue with the lines opening have be brought to a standstill.
An action group has been set up on Facebook by upset locals to discuss ongoing updates.
It has also become a place for residents to vent their frustration with the continued delays, with one local calling the lack of passenger trains running “an absolute farce”.