Overview
Oxford City Council, working with Oxfordshire County Council, local landowners, Network Rail and Department for Transport, will reopen passenger services on the Cowley Branch Line in Oxford.
The line will be upgraded and two new stations built: “Oxford Littlemore” (for Littlemore and The Oxford Science Park) and “Oxford Cowley” (for Blackbird Leys and ARC Oxford). The planning assumption is for two trains per hour via Oxford Station through to London Marylebone Station.
The new rail stations will connect significant employment sites and residential areas to the city centre in less than 10 minutes, with the possibility of direct connections to Oxford Parkway, Bicester and beyond. This would help to improve the public transport options for journeys into and around the City, increasing overall capacity locally, reducing congestion on our roads and contributing to a better rail network in Oxfordshire and the wider region. Network Rail estimates up to 1,000,000 journeys per year will be made using the new stations after only three years of operation.
In addition to transforming journeys, reopening the Cowley Branch Line to passengers will support the sustainable development of new homes and commercial employment spaces already proposed near the stations.
Funding
In October 2025, the government announced £120m of funding to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers and create two new stations at Oxford Cowley and Oxford Littlemore in south-east Oxford.
So far, £4.7m has been invested in feasibility work, and local partners will be asked to contribute £35m to the total construction cost. Both the city and county councils have already committed funds to this and will work with other landowners to secure further contributions.
Location
Open the Cowley Branch Line development location in Google Maps.
Project Timeline
Work to date
- April 2023: the City Council instructed Network Rail to start work on the FBC. The business case will produce an updated cost estimate based on outline designs for the rail infrastructure, which includes the two new stations, as well as an updated project delivery programme.
- December 2023: SLC Rail was awarded the contract to develop plans for walking, cycling and public transport connections to the stations from the surrounding residential and commercial neighbourhoods (both existing and planned). This separate Infrastructure Place Study will also help the City Council, County Council and partners to finalise and implement the funding strategy for the delivery phase of the project, which will rely on a combination of local and external investment.
- Summer 2025: the full business and investment case was submitted to the Department for Transport by Network Rail.
- October 2025: the government announced £120m of funding to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers and create two new stations at Oxford Cowley and Oxford Littlemore in south-east Oxford.
Next steps:
- Outline designs for the stations and rail infrastructure
- Developing designs for improved access to and from the proposed new stations and the vision for improved connectivity throughout the wider area affected by the stations
- Finalising and starting to implement funding strategy for delivery phase
- Detailed design and construction of stations and additional infrastructure
Key documents and websites
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