OUSU have announced that a date has been set for the commencement of the construction of a monorail following the conclusion of a deal with the council planning office last week. Ground will be broken for the first phase of construction – which will extend between Magdalen Street and St Hugh’s – in June 2015. It is expected that the monorail, nicknamed OxRail, will begin to function by late Michaelmas 2016.Â
OUSU initiated negotiations with Oxford City Council earlier in March, after an anonymous donation made by a St Hugh’s alumnus made the first phase of the project financially feasible. However, LMH students have been left downtrodden after it emerged that at present funding will only pay for construction as far as St Hugh’s.
An OUSU spokesperson told Cherwell, “We can confirm that we have now obtained sufficient funding for the first phase of the OxRail project, which will be approximately one mile long, beginning at Magdalen Street, extending along St Giles and Woodstock Road, and will terminate at St Hugh’s College. Five stops will be built, and four vehicles purchased”.Â
Cherwell understands that approximately 45% of the £9.8 million budget will come from the anonymous donation, with the remainder being met by government grants and advertising contracts.
However, the news has not been positively received in all circles. Lady Margaret Hall JCR President Amber Cecilé told Cherwell, “More or less everyone at LMH feels that we’ve been steamrollered by OUSU. I guess this goes to show that we should take them seriously after all, or the next thing you know you could be minus a monorail”.Â
But Louis Trup, who represented OUSU during negotiations with Oxford City Council ahead of his tenure as President, told Cherwell, “It’s awesome that we’ve struck deal for the first leg of the monorail. But obvs [sic] the monorail to St Hugh’s is only half the job – we promised it would go to LMH too, and now we’ve got to explore ways to make that happen”.Â
A spokesperson for Wolfson College simply commented, “What about us?”
Amongst town residents, an anti-monorail pressure group has announced its intention to appeal against the council’s decision. Speaking to Cherwell, Louise Relddem, Chair of the Jericho Residents’ Association, and President of the ‘Monorail: No Thank You’ campaign, said, “Personally speaking, my view of the historic frontage of St Anne’s College will be completely obscured by the planned monorail route”.
She continued, “There is very real anger amongst the residents at this decision, and we intend to explore all available avenues to appeal further. Students need to understand that there is more to Oxford than the university, and consider the repercussions for the town”. Â
A spokesperson for St Hugh’s College Development Office told Cherwell, “The alumnus/alumna who made the donation does not wish to be identified, but was motivated by their concern for the emotional wellbeing of Hughsies, being so far removed from the remainder of Oxford student society”.
Next week, OUSU are expected to announce the commencement of round-table talks with college housekeeping offices to negotiate the phasing-in of double beds in student rooms. President-elect Louis Trup will also chair the upcoming talks between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, as part of his bid for world peace.
