THE M40 between junctions Six (Lewknor) and seven for Thame, is now running freely following after an incident this morning.
At around 7am this morning, a lorry left the main carriageway coming to rest in a ditch.
It is not known at this time whether anyone was injured.
PLANS to develop a cycle hire scheme for Oxford have gathered pace following a decision by Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet to take the project to the next level.
The authority is planning an 18-month pilot to test the potential for a permanent cycle hire scheme in the city.
Cycle hire schemes have been successfully introduced in a large number of cities – particularly in mainland Europe. A number of small scale schemes already exist in parts of the UK including Cheltenham, Bristol and Reading.
Picture: Velib Paris bike scheme
The bicycles are usually picked up and returned by users at ‘hubs’ or ‘docking stations’, with swipe cards or some other electronic technology to unlock the bicycles and trace the use of a bicycle to a registered user.
The railway station, the city centre and Headington are areas being looked at for hubs – for example, discussions with the ORHT (Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust) have focused on ways of establishing cycle movements between the city’s hospitals as part of a pilot scheme. Discussions about the project have also taken place with Oxford City Council.
Current estimates indicate that a 12-month pilot scheme based on 130 bicycles, or an 18-month pilot based on 90 cycles, would cost in the region of
DEEP, standing water in places along the road to Chinnor, B4445, between Thame and Sydenham, is still making driving difficult, particularly early this morning when drivers were faced with icy conditions, particularly by the Towersey turn.
THE road from Worminghall to Wheatley is closed because of high water levels and the road from Worminghall to Shabbington and to Ickford is still under very deep water, the only way out of Worminghall is through Stanton St John.
The B4011 Bicester Road at Long Crendon and Wheatley Road, in Wheatley have all reopened.
Rycote Lane is no longer flooded but patchy, icy conditions early this morning caused one car to end up in a ditch.
LET Thamenews.Net know about any other road closures you may know about – call 07792 487 030, or email:
editor@thame.net
FOLLOWING the heaviest snowfall Thame has seen for many years last night, driving on sides roads continuous to be hazardous, especially as temperatures plummet to well below freezing tonight.
On the trains, Chiltern Railways has advised that currently delayes of around 20 minutes can be expected on the route between Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill, including arrivals at Haddenham and Thame Parkway, due to the adverse weather conditions.
CHILTERN RAIL are to build a new, two storey parking facility at Haddenham and Thame Parkway station.
The news that the rail company is provide 266 more car parking spaces (not 488 as reported yesterday – that’s the TOTAL spaces that will be available), was revealed by a company representative at a recent ‘Getting Closer to Communities’ meeting at Ickford.
Photo: Haddenham station on a foggy morning, Copyright Alex Leigh
A NEW railway route, between Marylebone station and Oxford, is to be built by Chiltern Rail.
The new route will include stops at High Wycombe and Bicester and is expected to be operational by 2013.
CHILTERN RAILWAYS’ passengers are experiencing delays of around 40 minutes on all services between Birmingham Snow Hill and London Marylebone due to a fatality at High Wycombe station.
Although other stations are affected, passengers travelling from Bicester North, Haddenham & Thame Parkway, Princes Risborough and Saunderton to London Marylebone, are advised to continue with their journeys as these are being diverted via Aylesbury to London Marylebone.
However, passengers travelling from Birmingham or Warwick Parkway to London Marylebone are advised to travel to Leamington Spa or Banbury for connecting Cross Country services to Oxford; change at Oxford for connecting First Great Western services to London Paddington. All Chiltern Railways tickets will be accepted.
Passengers travelling from Leamington Spa or Banbury are advisd to travel with Cross Country services to Oxford and then change for connecting First Great Western services to London Paddington.
Passengers travelling from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield or Gerrards Cross to London Marylebone are advised to travel via Amersham, Chalfont & Latimer or Chorleywood with Chiltern Railways, or London Underground Services. All Chiltern Railways tickets will be accepted.
THE A329 is closed both ways between the M40 junction 7, between the Thame junction and Church Road, Great Haseley, because of an accident. (Latest at 5.23pm)
CHILTERN RAIL are considering whether to pilot blocking mobile phone signals in their ‘quiet’ carriages.
Currently, many passengers ignore the stickers on the windows of some carriages which advise that mobile phones are not to be used.
Passengers seeking to get away from the noise of mobile ring tones and having to listen to conversations carried out on phones without any regard for the privacy of others in the carriage, will no doubt be delighted at the news and look forward to the day when such annoyances are banished.
AS part of a scheme to develop the 280 bus route through Thame, cycle racks at some of the bus stops are being considered.
Oxfordshire County Coucil, who are working with the bus company, Arriva to up-grade the route, have said that they will be promoting a ‘cycling to bus stop’ scheme on the 280 route (between Oxford and Aylesbury) with selected locations benefiting from cycle racks to lock bikes to. The scheme will be aimed at making cycling to your nearest bus stop more attractive for those who live more than a mile away from their nearest bus stop, particularly in Thame aimed at people living on the eastern side of the town.
Photo: bike rakes at a bus stop in New York City
The council also aims to increase the frequency of the Line 40 service to Chinnor and High Wycombe, to every 30 minutes during the morning and evening peak, as well as extending the current evening journeys from Stockenchurch through to Thame.