THE launch of rail services from central Oxford to London Marylebone has been delayed by more than six months.

Chiltern Railways said today it was now expecting to run trains on the line between Oxford Rail Station and Oxford Parkway Station, in Water Eaton, from December 12.

It had originally expected a spring opening and said problems getting planning consents were partly to blame.

Network Rail – which deals with railway infrastructure – needs Oxford City Council to sign off conditions for noise and vibration to finish building tracks through North Oxford, but has faced persistent objections from nearby residents.

A spokeswoman said: “We are continuing to work with the city council to discharge the planning condition for this section of the East West rail scheme.”

The announcement from Chiltern Railways came after its business development director Graham Cross warned a conference of business leaders that Oxford was a “difficult” place to invest in.

He told them: “I have been trying to improve railways in Oxfordshire for most of my career.

“There is demand for a good service, but it is difficult to invest in Oxford’s infrastructure.

“Some of the local opposition is very well organised and very well-informed, which can drag you down and is a real turn-off to developers who can choose where to spend their time.”

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, he added: “People say economic growth is welcome but also that there is an urgent need for infrastructure investment.

“But when you seek to do development in Oxford, there is considerable opposition against what you have to do to solve those problems.

“I have been through it and come out the other side and would tackle it again, but I will face intense questions from my board about whether we should go through that again.

“It is worth it when you get there, but it does take much longer to do things in Oxford.”

The delays to the Chiltern scheme go back more than five years. Network Rail can usually carry out track-building work without having to get planning permissions from councils, as the government passes special laws for its schemes.

But after a public inquiry in 2010 and 2011 on the Oxford to London project an inspector told the city council it would be responsible for signing off matters relating to noise and vibration.

Residents living next to the tracks claimed they already suffer from excessive noise and vibrations and that more frequent trains would worsen the problem.

Network Rail is still attempting to get measures signed off that it says will reduce noise and vibrations in those homes. In a statement it said it was carrying out the works in Oxford “to provide passengers with more services, faster journeys and fewer delays”.

But Oxford city councillors for Wolvercote Stephen Goddard and Mike Gotch have called for a review of the firm’s handling of the scheme.

Mr Goddard said: “Network Rail needs to be made more accountable. There are some things that have gone quite well, but there are clearly lessons to be learned – like how to keep local people on-side – and the sooner they are learned the better.”