Network Rail has hired architects to redraw Oxford station and 12 acres of land around it. It could bring a new eastern entrance, but has no building date.

Network Rail has appointed architects to draw up a long-term plan for Oxford station. Its vision would include a new main entrance on the eastern side, alongside the western entrance that is already committed.

The team is led by Hawkins\Brown, working with 5th Studio. Network Rail announced the appointment on 2 November. The masterplan covers about 12 acres of railway land around the station.

This is a design commission and not a decision to build. Network Rail’s announcement gives no budget and no construction date.

Why Network Rail says the station has to change

The station handles over 8 million passengers a year and 24,000 customers a day, according to Network Rail. It forecasts that peak demand will double by 2036, driven by East West Rail, services to Cowley and Bristol, and a growing customer base.

The brief sets three priorities:

  • a high-quality station ready for future growth
  • new entrances that give a welcoming gateway to the city
  • better onward travel connections

Tom Pierpoint, Network Rail and Great Western Railway’s industry programme director, said the station “needs to be ready for the growth that’s coming”. Anthony Lazarus, an associate director at Hawkins\Brown, said the passenger experience “is not as welcoming as it could be”.

What the contract says

The public procurement record gives more detail than the announcement.

Network Rail’s contract notice shows the deal was signed on 27 August 2026 with Hawkins Brown Architecture Limited. The key terms are:

  • Value: £2.15 million excluding VAT, or £2.58 million including it
  • Length: to 27 August 2029, with a possible extension to 26 February 2030
  • Phase 2: optional, and it “may not be instructed”

The value and term include that optional second phase. The firm work is a new illustrative masterplan and a full planning application for Phase 1.

The original tender also shows this is more than a station job. It listed these elements for the design:

  • station entrances and public space
  • a multi-storey car park and a cycle hub
  • offices and life sciences space
  • a hotel and homes

Network Rail’s announcement calls this “supporting development”. Andrew Ferguson, interim chief executive of its property company Platform4, said there is an opportunity to explore how the surrounding land “can support both the local economy and the city’s growth”.

What the councils say

Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown called the station “our city’s most important gateway”. She said it must evolve for growing passenger numbers, including people using the reopened Cowley Branch Line.

Gareth Epps, the county council’s cabinet member for transport, said the redevelopment is “desperately needed”. He said it should provide better facilities, more capacity and easier links with buses and cycling.

The money remains the open question. Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran asked the Chancellor last month to release funding for the next phases, and her office says the request was not met in the Budget.

What it means for you

Nothing changes at the station yet, and there is nothing to comment on today.

Network Rail says the team will first review future capacity and how the station and its transport links are used. A programme of public and stakeholder engagement follows, and no dates have been given. We will report them when they are published.

If you are planning a journey now, our Oxford to London trains page and roadworks and travel page carry what is running this week. The area around the station was also the site of the long Botley Road closure, which ended in September.