The M40 corridor is the area adjacent to the

M40 motorway The M40 motorway links London, Oxford and Birmingham in England, a distance of approximately . The motorway is dual three lanes except for junction 1A to junction 3 (which is dual four lanes) a short section in-between the exit and entry slip-r ...

running through

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is one of the main routes between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, the other being that followed by the M1 motorway. This includes the

Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of tw ...

, which also runs in the same area between the two cities. The route taken by the railway line closely follows the motorway except for the central section where the railway does not serve

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Unlike the motorway, the Chiltern Main Line stretches deep into both London and Birmingham.

Route

The area followed by the M40 includes southern

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, eastern

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and central/southern

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. Despite serving London and Birmingham, the M40 does not enter either cites, instead other roads/motorways continue onwards (e.g. the A40 continues right into

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

). The motorway runs between and .

South

The southern end is completely within Buckinghamshire with the town served being High Wycombe. Both road and rail travel in a north west-south east direction.

Central

The central section covers Oxfordshire and Bucks. The main population centre served is

North

Both rail and road now travel sharply to the north west, serving Warwickshire.

Main towns/cities served

The following table only includes places situated near the motorway and those close enough to be considered 'near the motorway' (like

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

). Other places that may use the motorway (for access to the north) are not included as they have other motorway access (for example

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

). Small villages are not included. Population figures are based on the 2001 census by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

Economy

Buckinghamshire

George Wimpey, RAF Air Command, Hyundai UK, Dreams, the UK base of Ariston (now owned by

Indesit Indesit Company (; ) was an Italian company based in Fabriano, Ancona. It was one of the leading European manufacturers and distributors of major domestic appliances (washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, freezers, cookers, hoods, ov ...

) and the UK headquarters of Staples are based in High Wycombe. The UK base of

Robert Bosch Robert Bosch (23 September 1861 – 12 March 1942) was a German industrialist, engineer and inventor, founder of Robert Bosch GmbH. Biography Bosch was born in Albeck, a village to the northeast of Ulm in southern Germany as the eleventh of t ...

is in Denham, near Gerrards Cross. Pioneer UK is in Stoke Poges and the Barracuda Group (owner of Varsity) is in Marlow, both locations being near the motorway.

Oxfordshire

Kraft Foods Banbury Kraft Foods in the Ruscote ward of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England is a large food and coffee producing factory in the north of the town. Built in 1964, it was partly due to the London overspill. Kraft Foods Banbury is the Kraft Foods centre of ...

, Westminster group plc, Prodrive and

Ascari Cars Ascari Cars Ltd. was a British automobile manufacturer based in Banbury, England, and founded by Klaas Zwart. Zwart was the former chairman and majority owner of oil and gas company Petroline, which designed and manufactured its own downhole ...

all have offices or are based in Banbury. The head office of

Travelodge UK Travelodge Hotels Limited is a private company operating in the hotels and hospitality industry throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. Known simply as ''Travelodge'', it is the UK's largest independent hotel brand with over 570 limite ...

is located in

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...

Warwickshire

Stratford-upon-Avon is world-famous as

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

hometown and so tourism is a major industry. The NFU Mutual Insurance Company is also based in the town.

ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...

JET Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

(petrol), BMW, and Volvo Group are based in Warwick.

References

External links

Places of interest along the M40 corridor
{{DEFAULTSORT:4-0040 Motorways in England Transport in Buckinghamshire Transport in Oxfordshire Transport in Warwickshire Rail transport in England Road transport in England Roads in England