BICESTER Town station could be renamed Bicester Village as part of the new £130m high speed railway line connecting Oxford to London.

At a public meeting on Tuesday, Chiltern Railways put forward suggestions for changing both Bicester North and Bicester Town station names.

The changes are part of work on a new high speed line from Oxford Parkway to London Marylebone, due to open this summer, which will see a revamped Bicester Town station.

The redesigned station in London Road, due to open in September, will have two platforms, 230 parking spaces and three entrance/exits including one specifically for neighbouring outlet shopping centre Bicester Village.

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Chiltern Railways said changing the name to Bicester Village station could help shoppers go to the correct destination.

Thomas Ableman, a director at the train operator, said: “There is a precedent for naming stations after the landmark they are next to. It is not unusual.

“It is a key destination. Instinctively visitors will want to go to Bicester North and changing it [Bicester Town] to Bicester Village will communicate where they need to go.

“A negative is that it implies access to Bicester Village only which is not the case. It could also be confusing if you have never heard of Bicester Village.”

Residents said the Bicester Village name would alienate people living in the town.

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The majority agreed that both station names should remain the same.

Sallie Wright, who has lived in Bicester for nearly 50 years, said: “The fear is that it will be called Bicester Village, which is just so totally wrong. I think it should stay as it is at the moment or Bicester South along with Bicester North.

“They (Bicester Village) seem to be taking over the town and this one thing should remain the same or Bicester Town South, not mention the village at all.”

In a letter to Chiltern Railways, Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry said: “Travellers for the Bicester Village retail outlet have up to now had no difficulty in working out that they can travel from Marylebone to Bicester North for Bicester Village and I see there would be no difficulty explaining to shoppers in the future that the easiest way for them to travel by rail to Bicester Village is via Bicester Town.

“Having represented Bicester for nearly a third of a century, my guess is that in terms of identity, Bicester as a whole would like to be identified as Bicester Town and that the town as a whole would not wish to be identified as Bicester Village.”

A spokeswoman for Bicester Village said: “We see it as part of our long term plan to shift people from cars to rail and reduce traffic. The name change would increase train journey numbers significantly and therefore reduce traffic in the town. We will continue to work with Chiltern Railways to promote the train as the best way to travel.”

Suggestions for Bicester North were Bicester Garden Town or simply Bicester.

Other names suggested for Bicester Town station included Bicester Garden Town, Bicester London Road and, put forward by the public, Bicester South.