 In 1872 Edward Watkin ( 1819 – 1901 ) was appointed as the Metropolitan Railway 's Chairman . A director of many railway companies , he had a vision of unifying a string of railway companies to create a single route running from Manchester via London to an intended Channel Tunnel and on to France . In 1873 Watkin entered negotiations to take control of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway and a section of the former Buckinghamshire Railway running north from Verney Junction to Buckingham . He planned to extend the MR north from London to Aylesbury to join the existing lines and create a direct route from London to the north of England . He also proposed to extend a short rail branch which ran from the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway to the small town of Brill , known as the Brill Tramway , southwest to Oxford , and thus create a through route from London to Oxford . Rail services between Oxford and London at this time were poor , and although still an extremely roundabout route , had the scheme been completed it would have formed the shortest route from London to Oxford , Aylesbury , Buckingham and Stratford upon Avon . The Duke of Buckingham , chairman of the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway and owner of the Brill Tramway , was enthusiastic , and authorisation for the scheme was sought from Parliament . Parliament did not share the enthusiasm of Watkin and the Duke , and in 1875 the Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire Union Railway Bill was rejected . 
