MP to meet transport secretary over station delays

An Oxford MP is set to meet with the transport secretary to discuss delays to work to upgrade the city's rail station.

Layla Moran raised the lengthy delays to the £161m Network Rail project, which has seen Botley Road closed since April 2023, in Parliament on Tuesday.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the situation was not "good enough" and agreed to her request for a meeting.

Network Rail has described the project as "incredibly complex" and said it was "taking the time to get it right".

Ms Moran, the Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said she was planning to attend a meeting of businesses affected by the works later in the week.

Her office said firms had reported up to a 60% drop in income and many were "deeply concerned" about how the closure would affect trade over Christmas.

Ms Moran said Network Rail's motto seemed to be "move slow and break things" and that it had "mismanaged" the train station upgrade.

She said she previously wrote to Transport minister Lord Hendy, who had agreed to meet with her, but now "seems too busy".

Ms Haigh said she agreed "the situation in Oxford isn't good enough".

She said she agreed with Ms Moran's characterisation of Network Rail and said that was "part of the reason" why it was being abolished.

"I will of course meet with her to discuss how we can improve the situation," Ms Haigh said.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Moran said she looked forward to finding "an acceptable way forward”.

“Network Rail have demonstrated utterly shambolic project management from start to finish, and residents have lost all faith in them to deliver this project," she added.

In a previous statement a Network Rail spokesman said: “We are working with the Department for Transport and local authority partners as we undertake a full review of the programme and will provide an update on timescales for the next steps of the project.

"This is an incredibly complex project, involving multiple organisations, so although we know everyone wants clarity, we are taking the time to get it right."

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