Three Shires : History and imagery from Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire: Bicester North railway station

Bicester North railway station in Oxfordshire was built as a stop on the Great Western Railway Chiltern Main Line, opening in 1910. It was Bicester's second station - the other being the London and North West Railway's Bicester London Road, later called Bicester Town and nowadays Bicester Village on the line to Oxford).

The station as built was far more elaborate than the station which exists now. Like many stations before the Beeching cuts of the 1960s Bicester North had a goods yard and a couple of through roads. The Chiltern line was drastically cut back in the late 1960s, being singled for a lot of its stretch though a loop was retained at Bicester North [1]. The track was redoubled in the early 2000s and remodelled through the station to allow for higher speeds. The space formally occupied by the through road became the new Up (London) bound track through the station. The platform was widened as a result (which is why the waiting rooms and other buildings on that platform are so far back!)

The main station building is little changed since the opening of the station with the original canopy. The footbridge has been changed over the years though is largely as it was since the station was built, though lifts have been added. Originally the bridge had to span four tracks hence its width!