The East West Rail line linking Oxford to Milton Keynes, completed in 2024, remains without passenger services, leaving residents frustrated. Freight trains have been running since late 2024, but passenger trains have yet to start, with no clear opening date.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves highlighted the line in January 2025 as vital for the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor, expecting services to begin soon. Chiltern Railways was set to take over in March 2025, but the start was postponed to autumn, then end of 2025, and now no target is given.
Local MP Callum Anderson said: “People can see it and hear it but they can’t use it.” A dispute over whether trains require guards is widely seen as the main issue, though the Department for Transport and unions deny this. Rail minister Peter Hendy cited the July 2024 general election as interrupting contract negotiations.
Winslow councillor Diana Blamires organised protests, calling the delays “nonsense, pathetic, laughable”. She noted that residents moved to the area expecting train access to London, Milton Keynes, or Oxford, but now face long bus journeys and traffic congestion.
Liberal Democrat MP Olly Glover blamed the government for the impasse, saying the election excuse was “ridiculous” and the dispute over staffing was the real issue. The DfT has not provided a revised timeline for services.
