RAIL bosses have promised ‘minimal impact’ on commuters despite a nine-day blockade of one of Oxford’s busiest routes.

The lines linking Didcot, Oxford and Banbury will be closed from this Saturday until Sunday, July 30, with commuters having to use rail replacement buses.

The work will go some way to allowing Great Western Railway’s (GWR) new fleet of electric trains to run on the tracks.

Senior programme manager for Network Rail, Rob Mashford, said: “We appreciate that there is never a good time to close the railway but we have worked closely with GWR, CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways to ensure minimal impact on passengers throughout this vital work.”

Buses will replace trains between Banbury and Oxford, and between the city and Didcot, every day apart from July 29.

Trains between Oxford and Worcester will be reduced to an hourly service with buses put on for those using Ascott-under-Wychwood, Shipton, Finstock and Combe.

Although the closure has been timed to coincide with the start of the school summer holidays, Chiltern Railways has pledged to add extra seats to its service to London Marylebone.

But GWR said the new fleet would be worth it, with a fifth more seats per train and more frequent services.

Operations director, Rob Mullen, said: “The work next week is a key part of Network Rail’s upgrade plans for the Oxford area, which with the introduction of our new fleet of intercity express trains later this year will provide the greatest step-change in experience for our passengers in a generation.”