East-West Rail: Cambridge section of route set to be announced today

The Department of Transport is due to announce the preferred route for the Bedford to Cambridge section of the East West Rail project plans later today. In March 2023, the Chancellor announced further details on the Bedford-Cambridge[1] section with residents wondering if the service would enter the city from the north or south.

In the Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt said the contentious rail line will “support further growth in life sciences and other high-productivity sectors” in the region by connecting businesses and talent. He said: “In May, the government will confirm the route for the new Bedford-Cambridge section, and will provide capacity funding to support local authorities to develop their plans for strategic economic growth around new stations.”

It is proposed the new section of railway between Bedford and Cambridge would travel through Sandy, St Neots, to Cambourne - both of which could get new stations - then round the south of the city to Cambridge Station. The exact route this will take has not yet been decided though. However, the East West Rail company have officially thrown their support behind a new railway entering Cambridge from the south via the West Anglia Main Line.[2]

Beth West, CEO of the East West Railway Company, responding to the announcement at the time said that it would provide a “level of certainty that people have been waiting for". In March, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the new Cambridgeshire railway line would only go ahead if it "fully stacks up" and is in the "national interest".

Work is continuing on the East West Rail line, a major infrastructure project that is set to provide trains between Oxford and Cambridge and Norwich on a new line. The project is split into three sections, with the 'Central Section' seeing a new line built between Cambridge and Bedford.

This would then link to the new western section between Bletchley in Buckinghamshire and Oxford, which includes a new railway station at Winslow. In an interview with Mr Harper, Anthony Browne, MP for South Cambridgeshire, asked the Transport Secretary for the latest on the stretch of line between Cambridge and Bedford.

Responding, Mr Barclay said: “The Government thinks East West Rail is really important. Obviously you need to make sure it stacks up. So, for each part of it, we’ll want to make sure there’s a solid business case for it that will go through all the normal processes. So South Cambridgeshire constituents can be reassured that we’re not going to build anything unless it absolutely stacks up in the national interest”

References

  1. ^ Cambridge (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
  2. ^ the West Anglia Main Line. (eastwestrail.co.uk)
  3. ^ East West Rail railway line between Cambridge and Bedford has to 'fully stack up' - Mark Harper says (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)