Varsity Line

The Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.

In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, and additional connections were made to nearby lines to improve it, but it was not greatly used for its intended purpose. After the war, the line was again scheduled to be developed as a strategic route, but that scheme was never fully implemented either.

Passenger services were withdrawn from most of the line on 1 January 1968, and only the – section (the Marston Vale line) remained open for passenger traffic.

In 1987, the section between Oxford and Bicester was reopened, followed in 2015 by a connection to the Chiltern Main Line at Bicester, enabling Chiltern Railways to operate an Oxford to London passenger service. The section between Bicester and Bletchley has been rebuilt and was made ready for use in October 2025 but, , passenger services have yet to commence and the line is only being used for freight. There are funded plans for the entire line to be re-established by the late 2030s, partly on a new route and under a new name "East West Rail" (or possibly "East West Main Line").

Early history

The Oxford to Cambridge line, when completed, ran broadly west to east. Although a continuous line from Oxford to Cambridge was proposed from time to time, it was actually built by local schemes.

From west to east, these were:

the Buckinghamshire Railway, from Oxford to Bletchley;
the Bedford Railway, from Bletchley to Bedford;
the Bedford and Cambridge Railway, between those points, which adopted the alignment of an earlier private scheme, the Sandy and Potton Railway.

In time, these sections were all incorporated into the London and North Western Railway.

In the early days there were five intersecting trunk lines running south to north:

The Great Western Railway at Oxford, with its northward allies;
the London and Birmingham Railway, forming part of the later West Coast Main Line;
the Midland Main Line, opened by the Midland Railway, crossing the route at Bedford;
the East Coast Main Line, opened by the Great Northern Railway, forming a connection at Sandy; and
the Eastern Counties Railway at Cambridge.

Two other trunk routes, the Great Western Railway's Bicester cut-off and the Great Central Railway main line, were built later.

Bedford Railway

The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) opened on 9 April 1838 as far north as Denbigh Hall, about a mile north of Bletchley (which was then a minor village). Initially, passengers alighted here to take a stagecoach on Watling Street to during construction work on the intervening section, which opened on 17 September 1838, and this temporary terminus was closed. Subsequently, and for a time, (a few miles further north and on the main road between Oxford and Cambridge via Buckingham and Bedford) took over as an important stop on the line, as a point where engines were changed over and passengers rested.

thumb|left|Bedford Railway in 1846In 1836, proposals were put forward to build a line from Cambridge to join the L&BR (still under construction) at Bletchley; the line would have passed through Bedford, but the scheme was not taken forward. The obvious enhancement to the prosperity of Aylesbury following that town's connection to the L&BR changed attitudes, and as time passed, Bedford business interests sought a connection to the main line railway. In 1844 George Stephenson visited Bedford to discuss the matter. At a meeting on 23 April 1844 he set out his proposed scheme, for a line to Bedford joining the L&BR main line at Bletchley. Some opinions had preferred Wolverton as the junction, since Bletchley was not then a settlement of any significance.

A prospectus for the Bedford and London & Birmingham Railway was prepared; the capital was to be £125,000.

On 16 July 1846 the London and Birmingham Railway amalgamated with others, and formed the London and North Western Railway. A proposed extension of the Bedford line on to Cambridge through Hitchin was submitted to Parliament in the 1846 session but failed standing orders.

The line to Bedford opened on 17 November 1846, when a ceremonial opening took 600 persons from Bedford to Bletchley in a special train. The new line had a connection to the River Great Ouse at Bedford, trailing from the Bletchley direction. The Bedford station was not yet ready at the time of opening. The commercial benefit to Bedford, already well served by coastal water-borne commerce over the River Great Ouse, is indicated by the immediate fall of coal prices, from 1s 9d to 11d per cwt. and before construction the two schemes were amalgamated to form the Buckinghamshire Railway, authorised by the Buckinghamshire Railway Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. ccxxxvi) on 22 July 1847. The new company would form a Y shape from Bletchley to both Oxford and Banbury. The 1847 powers also included an extension to Banbury, connecting to the Oxford and Rugby Railway there, and a southward extension from Verney Junction to join the Aylesbury branch.

The company had its own station at Oxford. It was fortunate in finding a site: Rewley Abbey had long since fallen into ruins, and the site was made available. Approaching trains crossed a swing bridge over the Sheepwash Channel to reach it. The junction with Oxford and Rugby Railway at Banbury was not made by the company, and the southwards extension from Verney was abandoned for the time being.

Wolverhampton to London via Bletchley

thumb|left|Railway lines at Bletchley in 1854

The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway was authorised by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. clxxxiv) as a broad gauge line on 4 August 1845. Its line was to be 89 miles in length, connecting to the Great Western Railway at Wolvercot Junction, just north of Oxford. The cost of the line was heavy, and the estimates fell considerably short, so that the company was constantly short of funds during the construction period. For some time it concentrated its resources on the northern part of the authorised line.

Although the OW&WR had originally been expected to be an ally of the GWR, the friendly relations cooled, and the London and North Western Railway (as owner of the Oxford to Bletchley line) developed good relations with the OW&WR. The LNWR tried to negotiate a takeover of the OW&WR, but this was rejected in Parliament; and in 1852 a direct connection between the LNWR Bletchley line and the OW&WR was also thrown out. In 1853 however the proposed connection (later known as the Yarnton Spur) was approved, and on 4 June 1853 the OW&WR had opened its line as far as Wolvercot Junction, its southern extremity.

The Yarnton Spur was a short double-track line, in length, from Oxford Road Junction to Yarnton, and it was opened on 1 April 1854. The LNWR at once started operating through passenger services between Euston and Wolverhampton, via Bletchley, Yarnton Spur and the OW&WR. The trains were worked by the LNWR as far as Hanborough, and also from Dudley to Wolverhampton LNWR station via the South Staffordshire curve at Tipton.

Verney Junction

There was a junction but no station at Verney Junction until 1868, when the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway completed their line from Aylesbury to Verney. The Great Western Railway worked the A&BR trains until the company was absorbed by the Metropolitan Railway in 1891, becoming the northern terminus of the Metropolitan Railway. Two Pullman cars worked to Baker Street daily.

Sandy and Potton Railway

thumb|The Sandy and Potton Railway in contextThe Great Northern Railway had opened its line from London to Peterborough on 7 June 1850, ultimately giving access to York, and running through Sandy.

The Sandy and Potton Railway was planned by Captain Sir William Peel. He had settled in Potton, and conceived a railway running almost entirely over his own lands, connecting with the Great Northern Railway at Sandy. The length of the line was miles, and an opening ceremony was held in June 1857. The line opened to public goods traffic on 23 June 1857. A Board of Trade inspection took place on 5 November 1857, and this was successful, enabling opening of the line to passengers on 9 November 1857. Peel acquired a locomotive for the line from George England and Co. of Hatcham; it was named Shannon, after the frigate commanded by Peel. A locomotive was hired from the GNR on one or two occasions, and passenger rolling stock was supplied by the GNR. The line had cost £15,000 to build.

The GNR had allowed Captain Peel to terminate his line in their Sandy goods yard, on condition that he would remove his works if the GNR required the site.

In fact the construction significantly overran cost estimates, and the company had to confer with the LNWR (as prospective lessee) about how to raise the extra cash. The authorised capital had been £240,000, and this had never fully been subscribed, and after opening the estimated cost to complete had risen to £370,175. This at last proved to be accurate. There was acrimony between the companies, but the LNWR underwrote the extra capital, and after considerable further negotiation, the LNWR absorbed the Bedford and Cambridge Railway Company by a share conversion, equating to 4% on the £240,000 original capital.

It opened on 7 July 1862 for passengers, and for goods in October 1862. The Sandy and Potton Railway had been purchased for £20,000. On 1 July 1862 the Eastern Counties Railway was restructured into the Great Eastern Railway.

Working arrangements were made with the LNWR, authorised by the (27 & 28 Vict. c. lxii) of 23 June 1864. The company was absorbed by the LNWR on 5 July 1865.

The Midland Railway's London extension opened in 1857, at this stage to Hitchin. It crossed the LNWR line at Bedford by a (nearly) 90-degree flat crossing; although it was undesirable, it was considered an appropriate economy measure as compared with a bridge crossing.

Railmotors

thumb|Railmotor at Bicester Town railway station

In the early twentieth century, railways sought lower-cost methods of operating passenger trains. The LNWR experimented with a steam railmotor. This was a single passenger coach, designed at Wolverton, with a small integrated steam locomotive. A railmotor was brought to Oxford for trials with a service to Bicester. However, during a trial run on 5 October 1905 the vehicle developed a hot axlebox, and the opening was deferred to the 9th. The railmotor was found to be capable of a top speed of , and was timed for 30 minutes for the to Bicester.

The vehicle had seats for 48 passengers in two saloons, smoking and non-smoking. The transverse seating had reversible backs, to allow passengers to face the direction in which they were going. They were considered by users to be very comfortable. Woodwork was framed teak and the coach was lit electrically. Alighting and departing the vehicle at the ground level platforms of the halts was effected by a set of steps that swung out from the body of the vehicle. The steps were interlocked with the brakes. In 1905, there were six workings between Oxford and Bicester, with one additional on Thursday and Saturday, in each direction.

A number of small timber platform halts were built to facilitate the new service. The halts were unstaffed, and tickets were issued by a conductor on the train. The first was Summertown Halt, opened on 20 August 1906. By the following January the name had been changed to Port Meadow. The remainder of the halts were opened on 9 October 1905.

Due to World War I, the six halts were closed from 1 January 1917, and were reopened on 5 May 1919. The railmotors had limitations: they were underpowered, had insufficient accommodation, and suffered from reliability problems. In about 1921, they were replaced by autotrains, which used a conventional locomotive operating in combination with a coach that was adapted to allow the driver to control the train from the coach when it was being propelled. The autotrains, and the halts west of Bicester, were finally withdrawn on 25 October 1926, during the General Strike, but competition from road omnibuses had led to a significant decline in rail patronage.

The whole of the Oxford to Cambridge line was thus part of the new LMS. In the 1930s, the major railways adopted a novel form of collaboration in the interest of reducing operating expenses. In 1934 the Stationmaster of the GWR's Oxford General station took over the management of the LMS's Rewley Road station. Cartage lorries in Oxford carried the initials of both companies.

The Micheline railcar

In 1931, the Michelin Tyre Company was trying to market an internal combustion (petrol) railcar, which it named the Micheline. It was a ten-wheel articulated vehicle, with pneumatic rubber tyres. It was tried on the line in 1932. Carrying only 24 passengers and with uncertain reliability, it had many of the disadvantages of the steam railmotors, and the trial did not lead to adoption of the system.

Diesel railcar

On 12 September 1938, a new diesel railcar design started work on the line. It was a three-car articulated unit, powered by six 125 hp diesel engines; the design was stylish and futuristic, and included central control of sliding passenger doors by the guard. The train was designed at Derby LMS.

Three journeys throughout the Oxford to Cambridge line were undertaken daily, with some short fill-in trips. The journey time Oxford to Cambridge, with three stops, (Bletchley, Bedford and Sandy) was 1 hour 45 minutes, comparing favourably with the 3 hour steam train journey. The runs were not advertised in the ordinary timetables, but only by handbills locally.

The outbreak of World War II prevented further development of this experimental system.

World War II

In September 1939, war on Germany was declared by the United Kingdom. Aerial bombardment of UK cities and industrial sites was expected, and it was considered essential to create a trunk route for goods traffic avoiding London, which was expected to be the principal target of bombing. The Cambridge to Oxford route was selected to be the core of this route, because of its intersections with several trunk routes. Where existing connections between railways on the route were inadequate, relatively simple enhancements would resolve the difficulty.

Wragg describes the situation:

<blockquote>The solution was to build what amounted to a railway by-pass of London. Of necessity this was some distance from the capital, both to avoid disruption from heavy air raids, and also to utilise existing lines as far as possible. The start of this massive loop was the old London and North Western line from Cambridge to Oxford…</blockquote>

<blockquote>There were good existing connections in and out of this line at Bedford and Bletchley, but at Sandy and at Oxford time-consuming shunting movements would be necessary, so here again new connections were hastily installed and opened during 1940. There was no link at all at Calvert so a completely new link was created.</blockquote>

In November 1940 Oxford North Junction was created, enabling through running from the Bletchley line towards Oxford GWR station. A south-to-east chord line was constructed at Claydon across an area called Shepherd's Furze, connecting the former Great Central Main Line with the line from Bletchley. This link proved a useful connection in addition to its emergency value, and it saw much traffic during the war.

At Bletchley, the old west-to-south curve, removed in 1864, was reinstated, opening on 31 August 1942. The Bicester Military Railway was built; it served a very large depot for ordnance and equipment. The civilian railway authorities protested at the adverse impact the railway movements to and from the depot would have on the ordinary war effort of the LNWR line, and the Ministry of War Transport agreed to the building of a new 660 wagon capacity yard at Swanbourne, about miles west of Bletchley.

thumb|Sandy North CurveThe Railway Executive also constructed a west-to-north connection at Sandy; it opened in 1942. However it did not prove to have a strategic value in peacetime and was removed after the war.

The Oxford connection was useful in peacetime and was retained. The same is true of the Claydon curve, which provided a useful route for certain freight flows, and for empty passenger stock moves. The Bicester and Sandy connections proved less useful, and were removed.

Nationalisation

The main line railways of Great Britain were taken into state ownership at the beginning of 1948, pursuant to the Transport Act 1948. The entire line was in the London Midland Region of British Railways at first, but in 1951 the section from just east of Bicester to Oxford was transferred to the Western Region.

Transfer to the GWR station at Oxford

The operation of two passenger stations at Oxford was obviously wasteful and the wartime connection allowed trains from the Bletchley direction to run directly into the GWR's Oxford General station.

In October 1951, a complete transfer of passenger operation at Oxford into this (former GWR) station, now named simply Oxford railway station, took place. Most goods workings were transferred to the former GWR Hinksey yard, and Rewley Road station handled only coal and some general goods traffic. was published. £1.2 billion would be spent on the project. Subsidiary reports recommended the development of the Oxford to Cambridge line as part of an outer freight ring route from Cambridge to Ashford (Kent) via Oxford, Reading and Tonbridge, keeping freight flows away from London. The cost was to be £15 million. A large marshalling yard was to be built at Swanbourne, and the Bletchley Flyover (a viaduct over the West Coast Main Line beside Bletchley station).

Work on the Swanbourne yard and the Bletchley viaduct started in September 1958. The viaduct was ready in 1962 (it had cost £1.5 million) but work was halted on the marshalling yard.

Gerry Fiennes was Chief Operating Officer, British Railways, at the time and wrote that he was convinced marshalling yards should be built in the areas of production and consumption, and not, like Swanbourne, in greenfield sites:

Rationalisation and extensive section closures

thumb|The Oxford to Cambridge railway line in 1960

If development of passenger business on the line had been envisaged in 1955, that too was suddenly reversed, and in 1959 closure of the entire route was considered. However the introduction of diesel multiple unit passenger trains in that year substantially reduced operating costs, and the closure idea was rescinded. In the Beeching Report of 1963, retention of the line was recommended, with only minor curtailment, but in December 1963 closure was once again put forward, as income was only a little over half of operating expenses. Closure was approved, and most local freight facilities were withdrawn on 18 April 1966.

Following public protest, passenger operation on the central section between Bedford and Bletchley was retained (and continues in use as the Marston Vale Line). Delay in arranging substitute bus services resulted in the passenger closure of the remainder being deferred to 1 January 1968. The line from Bedford (Goldington Power Station) to the junction at Cambridge was closed completely; the wartime marshalling yard at Swanbourne was closed in March 1967.

The Buckingham branch closed to passengers on 7 September 1964 and to goods on 5 December 1966.

In 1967, the line between Bicester and Oxford was closed to passengers and, in October 1973, reduced to single track. Following that time, for some years the chief use of the line was as a connection from Aylesbury via Claydon LNE Junction to Bletchley for stone trains, refuse trains from the Bristol area, and empty passenger stock movements. The freight-only section between Bicester and Bletchley was mothballed by Trainload Freight in 1993 following the closure of the ARC roadstone terminal at Wolverton. Until earlier that year, there had been up to three limestone workings from Whatley to Wolverton, plus the daily Avon- binliner but this had been re-routed via London and Aylesbury.