The proposed Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, which would serve a large logistics park on land east of the former Upper Heyford Air Base, between Bicester and Banbury, north of Oxford, has been put on hold while the promoters, Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited, review the larger project. According to them, concerns raised over the extent of additional road infrastructure have led to a reappraisal of the plans. That may be interpreted as a significant level of objection raised in the initial consultation process.

The project, dubbed OxSRFI, has the potential to directly serve a large campus of warehousing within a logistics park situated on a green field location. Although the railhead will be on the extremity of the site, the promoters have made much of the potential for rail freight handling in day-to-day operations.

The UK government has said there is a need to develop a network of Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges (SRFIs) of which this project has been designated a part. However, with opposition elsewhere to similar proposals, there are hurdles to overcome before any trains run or, more pertinently, before any warehouses are erected.

Remote from the rail terminal

After leaving Bicester North, trains heading for Birmingham, along the Chiltern Main Line, soon pass the disused runway of Upper Heyford military air base. Strategic bombers no longer line up on the apron in readiness for the realm’s defence. However, the site is still at the heart of the conflict, with a hot war of words being waged over Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited’s proposals for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) on land east of the former air base.

The SRFI will serve as a logistics park, which will see over 600,000 square metres of warehousing and associated infrastructure. The promoters of OxSRFI say the proposal responds to the need to create a network of Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges throughout the country and that private sector investment such as this, and the transfer of freight from road to rail, will contribute to a low-carbon economy and address climate change. However, it has been noted that the campus will also need significant dedicated road installations.

Highways agency insist on substantial engineering

Objections have been raised among locally elected representatives. One councillor, Ian Corkin, has spoken to local media, expressing concerns about the limited capacity of the rail line and whether it can handle additional intermodal freight paths. He has also voiced worries about the project’s impact on nearby villages. It does rather sound like St Albans all over again. It may be noted that despite job opportunities, there are no plans for a passenger station to accompany the development. With the campus layout, the councillor was also concerned by the number of heavy goods vehicles that may be used to service the wider logistics park.

The national highways agency has insisted on substantial engineering works to adjacent motorway junctions. They may well feel the same as the councillor. Despite the promoters’ emphasis on rail freight opportunities, trucking would appear to still figure highly. In that light, a statement says that the promoters have decided to “pause the wider work on the project to allow for a thorough review to take place, due to the scale and complexity of the emerging highways infrastructure works and associated transport measures”. If approved, the proposed site will be developed by Mountpark, a developer of logistics parks across Europe.