WORK will be carried out on the railway line south of Oxford next year to make it flood-proof, Network Rail has said.

The section of the Oxford line to Didcot at Redbridge is prone to flooding, regularly causing delays during wet weather.

The Government has said it will make £31m of funding available for 10 rail resilience projects, including work at Redbridge.

The work may involve raising the track over a 500m stretch to avoid flooding and signal failure problems.

Anne-Marie Batson, of Network Rail, said: “We are designing a solution at present and plan to deliver the scheme in 2015 as part of a set of enhancements for the Oxford corridor.’’

Oxford City Council’s leader Bob Price said: “I’m delighted that National Rail has belatedly decided to do improvements that should have been done long ago.”

Mr Price said that the tracks should have been raised in 2011 when Network Rail raised the bridge over the rail track.

He said: “They – Network Rail – need to make sure that the development does not clash with the Western Conveyance Cbannel plan so that the two schemes can work together to help prevent flooding in the area.”