Cotswold Line
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The Cotswold Line is an railway line between and in England.


History


Early years

The line between Oxford and Worcester was built under an 1845 Act of Parliament and opened in 1851 as part of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. The Act required the line to be built to
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...
's
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
but delays, disputes and increasing costs led to its being completed as
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
. The first stage of the Worcester and Hereford Railway opened between Henwick and Malvern Link on 25 July 1859. The bridge over the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
was approved for traffic the following year, and trains started running through from Malvern Link to Worcester Shrub Hill station on 17 May 1860. A short extension from Malvern Link to opened on 25 May 1860. On 1 July 1860 the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway absorbed both the Worcester & Hereford Railway and the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway to form the West Midland Railway. On 13 September 1861 the final stage of the railway opened between Malvern Wells and Shelwick Junction. This junction is just north of Hereford station on the line between Hereford and Shrewsbury, and it finally created a through route between Worcester and Hereford. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
took over the West Midland Railway in 1863. The original tunnel through the ridge of the
Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit af ...
, Colwall Tunnel, was completed in July 1860. However, the tunnel was unstable, and it was closed for short periods in 1861 and again in 1907 following rock falls. Eventually the GWR decided to build a new tunnel to the south of the existing one. This opened for traffic on 2 August 1926. The old tunnel was abandoned, and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it was used to store torpedoes. In the early 1970s, 25 miles from Moreton-in-Marsh to Norton Junction, Worcester were converted from
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
to single track. Following serious floods, which washed parts of embankments away, the line was closed for about a fortnight during July and August 2007 for repairs.


Improvement works 2008–2011

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
completed the redoubling of of track from just east of to , and from to about west of Evesham on 22 August 2011. This was intended to improve reliability, enable non-stop operations and allow an hourly off peak service to run on the line. The Office of Rail Regulation approved the work in June 2008, although the planned work was over-budget and had to await final approval. In December 2008 vegetation was cleared. A six-week closure of all or part of the line between Oxford and Worcester for preparatory works took place in July and August 2009. Further weekend work planned for February 2010 was postponed by Network Rail. Initial work began in autumn of 2010, with the majority of the second track being relaid between December 2010 and May 2011 when the line was closed at 21.30 from Monday to Thursday. In March 2011 construction works were started on additional structures and signalling equipment that the new line needed, including three new platforms at Charlbury, Ascott-under-Wychwood and . Footbridges at Charlbury and Honeybourne as well as preparation for the upgrade of six Level Crossings. The new double track section between Charlbury and Ascott re-opened on 6 June 2011; the line between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh having been closed during the previous nine days. The section between Moreton and Evesham reopened as double track on 22 August 2011 with the line closed for the preceding two weeks.


Platform extensions 2018

The line was closed from 16 to 25 November 2018, between Moreton-In-Marsh and Worcester Shrub Hill, so that platforms could be extended to accommodate Class 800 trains.


Opening of Worcestershire Parkway 2020

Worcestershire Parkway railway station opened in February 2020, following a long-standing proposal for a new split-level station where the line crosses over the Birmingham and Bristol Railway route. Connecting services are provided by
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the current CrossCountry franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2006, ...
on the Cardiff to Nottingham line and there is parking for 483 cars.


Route

The line comprises all or part of the following
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...
routes: *GW 200 from Oxford *GW 310 from Wolvercot Junction *GW 300 from Norton Junction *GW 340 from Worcester Shrub Hill *GW 730 from Shelwick Junction to Hereford


Infrastructure

The line is single track between the following places: *Wolvercot Junction, (about north of Oxford) and . * west of and Norton Junction ( south east of ) *Worcester Shrub Hill through to Henwick. *Malvern Wells, ( south of ) and Shelwick Junction ( north of Hereford) with a crossing place at . Other sections are double track. Significant
civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
structures on the line include Campden Tunnel (), the
Colwall Tunnels The Colwall Tunnels are a pair of railway tunnels that connect Colwall and Malvern Wells on the Cotswold Line, passing under the Malvern Hills in the Welsh Marches region of England. The original route planned for the Worcester and Herefor ...
(), Ledbury Tunnel () and viaducts at Worcester and Ledbury.


Detail


Oxford to Charlbury

After departing Oxford station, the Cotswold Line shares track with the Cherwell Valley Line to
Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...
. About north of the station, the line crosses the Sheepwash Channel which links the Castle Mill Stream and
Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...
with the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
. Immediately east of the current line is the Rewley Road Swing Bridge over the channel which used to carry the
London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...
's (LNWR) Buckinghamshire Railway line to its terminus at Oxford Rewley Road. The swing bridge is a
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. The Rewley Road station building has been dismantled and re-erected at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. The built up area east of the railway, visible across the Oxford Canal, is
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
, a district which originated as lodgings outside the city walls where travellers could rest if they arrived after the gates were locked. The Eagle Ironworks of William Lucy & Co. was near the first road bridge over the track on Walton Well Road. After the bridge, the open area to the left is Port Meadow, a water meadow bordering the Thames with a
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
round barrow. The former LNWR Buckinghamshire Railway branches away to the north east. The section from Oxford to Bicester has been connected to the Chiltern Main Line by a new chord at Bicester, enabling through trains from Oxford to
London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone a ...
to run from September 2015. Proposals exist for re-opening the whole line and are included in the Draft Milton Keynes & South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy, but there are many planning and funding matters to be resolved. The line passes through Wolvercote. To the west, Lower Wolvercote was a centre for paper making, mainly for the
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
from the 17th century until 1998 and is the site of Godstow Abbey, a
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
convent founded in the 12th century. The line passes under the viaduct carrying the A34 Oxford Western Bypass and further under the
A40 road The A40 is a trunk road which runs between London and Goodwick (Fishguard), Wales, and officially called The London to Fishguard Trunk Road (A40) in all legal documents and Acts. Much of its length within England has been superseded by motorw ...
linking London and
Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...
. The line now turns west; here the former Buckinghamshire Junction Railway link with the Buckinghamshire Railway used to converge from the east. About after Oxford station, station was in the short stretch between here and where the Witney Railway diverged to the south-west. So far, the line has been close to the River Thames but the river now swings away to the south through a landscape dotted with gravel pits. The line now climbs the valley of the
River Evenlode The River Evenlode is a tributary of the Thames in Oxfordshire. It rises near Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, in the Cotswold Hills and flows south-east to the Thames, its valley providing the route of the southern part of the Cotswold Li ...
repeatedly crossing and re-crossing the river. station serves the villages of Long Hanborough, Church Hanborough, Freeland and Bladon. The Oxford Bus Museum is next to Hanborough station. From Hanborough the line enters the Cotswold
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...
and beyond Hanborough is station. Building the line through Combe was difficult with several deep cuttings, four crossings of the Evenlode, and the diversion of a length of the river. To the south, just after the third river crossing are the remains of North Leigh Roman Villa. About beyond the villa the line crosses the course of Akeman Street
Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
. The Oxfordshire Way long-distance footpath follows Akeman Street from the north east to a point about north of the railway before turning to run through Stonesfield and meet the line at Charlbury station. The next station is . Between Finstock and Charlbury the deer park to the west of the line is Cornbury Park, original venue for the Cornbury Music Festival, which has now been replaced by the Wilderness Festival. The woodlands south west of the park are the remains of Wychwood Forest named after the
Hwicce Hwicce () was a kingdom in Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result ...
, one of the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
peoples of Britain. Charlbury station is the start of the redoubled track and is first stop for faster trains over the line and retains its original Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway clapperboard building. Sir Peter Parker lived nearby at Minster Lovell and was a regular user of Charlbury station while chairman of the
British Railways Board The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...
(1976 to 1983). The patronage of the head of the organisation may have helped to save the line at a time when the Serpell Report was calling for more rail closures. This is section of track has a maximum speed of


Charlbury to Moreton-in-Marsh

The line is now heading south-west and the site of Ascot d'Oilly Castle is to the north-west as the train enters Ascott-under-Wychwood. Few trains call at station, but there is a signal box controlling the
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
and the points that were formerly the end of the single track section from Wolvercot Junction. beyond Ascott is station which serves the villages of Shipton-under-Wychwood, Milton-under-Wychwood and Fifield. Still following the Evenlode, the line now turns north-west. There is another level crossing near Bruern Abbey. The next junction on the line was at from where the Banbury and Cheltenham Direct Railway went west to
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
via and east to near . Kingham village is north of the station. The village west of the station is Bledington. The Oxfordshire Way which has been close to the railway since Akeman Street now turns west to Bourton-on-the-Water but it is replaced by another long-distance footpath, the Diamond Way. Beyond Kingham, the line passes through the site of the former railway station, closed in 1966. At Moreton-in-Marsh the line crosses the course of another major Roman road, the
Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia ( Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis ( Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bat ...
which linked '' Isca Dumnoniorum'' (
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
) and '' Lindum Colonia'' ( Lincoln). Moreton-in-Marsh was the headquarters of the railway spot-hire company Cotswold Rail until the company moved to Gloucester.


Moreton-in-Marsh to Hereford

About after Oxford is Moreton-in-Marsh. This was once the southern end of the Stratford and Moreton Tramway. The line then passes the corner of the Roman town of Dorn. The Cotswold Line leaves the Evenlode which drains into the Thames and enters the catchment of the
River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
. The first level crossing appears. The building west of the crossing is a brick works and the neighbouring pits were the site of
Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...
clay extraction for the works. The village to the north is Paxford. The large country house to the west is Northwick Park, former home of Edward Spencer-Churchill and site of a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
hospital during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and afterwards a centre for Polish refugees. The line the passes the site of station, about east of
Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries. A wool trading centre in the Middle Ages, Chipp ...
itself. From here the line goes into cutting, then the Campden Tunnel under the Cotswold
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
. In 1851 unrest among the navvies building the tunnel resulted in a riot – the 'Battle of Campden Tunnel'. The next station is Honeybourne. From 1905 until 1977 this was the junction with the GWR line between
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
and . The track to the north remains as a link to the large former military depot at Long Marston. There is a good business case for the restoration of the Stratford-Cotswolds link. The large compound to the north with high walls, chapel, and floodlights is Long Lartin prison. There is another level crossing, where station used to be. The line crosses the River Avon into Evesham. Opposite Evesham's Cotswold Line station is the former
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
station, once on the Gloucester Loop Line, Ashchurch & Barnt Green line. The line becomes single track again about west of Evesham and then crosses the River Avon twice more and follows it towards . West of Pershore, where the line crosses over the Cross Country Route, the new Worcestershire Parkway railway station, Worcestershire Parkway station has been opened. Just beyond, the line passes through Norton Junction where there was formerly a station. The junction links the line to the Cross Country Route. Here double track restarts. About after Oxford is Worcester Shrub Hill station. Here are connections to commuter lines going to . Worcester Foregate Street station gives connections to the city centre and other lines to Birmingham. later the line reaches Malvern Link station. Great Malvern station follows, and later is the site of the former Malvern Wells station. After Malvern Wells the line enters the long Colwall New Tunnel. This is the second Colwall tunnel; the entrance to the original tunnel can be seen to the north. When the tunnel is below the ridge of the Malvern Hills AONB, Malvern Hills, the line crosses the boundary between Worcestershire and Herefordshire. The line reaches Colwall railway station, Colwall station, where The Coca-Cola Company plant (now demolished) next to the station used to bottle Malvern Water (bottled water), Malvern Water, a local mineral water. Next to the bridge carrying the B4218 road over the railway is an unusual five-sided cottage. When the railway was built one corner had to be demolished and replaced by a plain wall. After passing through another tunnel, Ledbury station is passed and Hereford station ends the journey on the line.


Services

, the previous off peak weekday service continues: roughly an hourly service between London and Worcester. Due to constraints of the former single track, there are some two-hour gaps. These services are extensions of the half-hourly Oxford fast trains. Some of the former gaps have been partly filled by three additional trains as far as Moreton-in-Marsh (running through from/to Paddington railway station, London Paddington). During peak hours, both Oxford fast trains are extended to Worcester, giving a half-hourly service. Overall, about half the trains continue to/from Great Malvern and five trains a day continue to and from Hereford. There is also an additional commuter service to and from Oxford in the morning and evening, which additionally calls at the halts (their "Parliamentary" service, preventing their closure). The historic problem of some trains having to wait at passing loops, extending journey times, has been eliminated by the redoubling, although some still have to wait at Charlbury or Evesham. Due to short platforms, passengers alighting at stations except Shrub Hill, Worcestershire Parkway, Oxford and Hereford should listen to onboard announcements telling them from which coaches they should alight. Normally this is from the 2–5 coaches at the country end of the train (further from the ticket barrier at ). In 2007 some trains in the morning rush hour started at but this was discontinued from December 2008.


Usage

The busiest stations on this line are the city stations at Oxford, Worcester and Hereford, followed by Great Malvern. The busiest station served exclusively by Great Western Railway's Cotswold Line services is Moreton-in-Marsh, followed by Hanborough.


Poetry

The line features in two notable poems
"Adlestrop"
by Edward Thomas (poet), Edward Thomas an
"Pershore Station, or A Liverish Journey First Class"
by John Betjeman.


References


Sources and further reading

* * * *
New Adlestrop Railway Atlas
'. *


External links



– Record of House of Commons adjournment debate on the Cotswold Line. {{Transport in Gloucestershire Rail transport in Oxfordshire Rail transport in Gloucestershire Rail transport in Worcestershire Rail transport in Herefordshire Railway lines in South East England Transport in Oxford Transport in Worcester, England Hereford Railway lines opened in 1851 Railway lines in South West England Railway lines in the West Midlands (region) Cotswolds 1851 establishments in England