Rail minister Theresa Villiers yesterday said she was “confident” the East West rail link would happen, but could not say how much it would cost the Oxfordshire taxpayer.

Plans to re-open the Oxfordshire to Bedfordshire rail line were given the green light by chancellor George Osborne last week.

Yesterday, Ms Villiers visited Bicester to see for herself one link in the £270m project.

Work on the Oxford to Bicester section of the line will be done by Chiltern Railways as part of its Evergreen Three project, which is awaiting planning approval by the Government.

Work on the rest of the East West link could start in 2015, with its opening in 2017. But campaigners have pledged to push for work to start sooner.

Re-opening the line has already been hailed a huge boost to the local economy because of the transport links it will open up.

Ms Villiers said the business case must stack up, and the project must be value for money, before it would get final approval.

She said: “I’m very confident this is going to happen, subject to business case and subject to building up local contributions.”