Cambridge Approaches: ‘East West Rail Company is flogging a …
Campaigners are calling for the central section of East West Rail to be scrapped on the grounds of dependence on housing development and a poor business case to justify the next steps.
Cambridge Approaches says the East West Rail Company (EWR Co) has demonstrated a “complete disregard for wildlife and people living along the proposed line”.
William Harrold, a retired engineer and co-founder of Cambridge Approaches, has studied the economic case presented in EWR Co’s recent reports[1], which were released alongside the route announcement on Friday (May 26).
He said: “From this, we can see that EWR Co are flogging a dead horse. The Bedford to Cambridge section needs to be dropped, it has no rational business case or democratic credentials and the environmental impact of the railway, together with the assumed additional housing development, is appalling.
“After spending a further £150million of public money, and apparently ignoring their consultants’ advice, EWR Co have now announced substantially the same route that they proposed two years ago.”
Dr Harrold added: “To their credit EWR Co have published a lot more of the business case. This shows that the level two benefit to cost ratio for their preferred route has fallen from 1.31 in 2020 to a ridiculous 0.3 today. There is no business case for this railway.”
Cambridge Approaches says EWR Co have attempted to boost their business case by assuming a population increase of 53,400 at Cambourne from a base of 9,200 and an increase of 44,000 at Tempsford from a base of 500.
This falls outside, and in addition to, any Local Plan – with no clear route to achieving it, says the group. Nor does EWRCo address the fundamental issue of lack of spatial plan and first/last mile solution, the campaigners say. Yet the benefit to cost ratio remains low at 0.59.
The campaign group says they have found no commitment to address the ‘Great Wall of South Cambridgeshire’.
EWR Co has also continued to give no serious consideration for the support of rail freight and has chosen a route that is completely unsuitable for that, says Cambridge Approaches.
Senior manager and scientist Phillip Phan, from the Cambridge Approaches working group, claimed EWR Co has a total disregard for local communities.
He said: “EWR Co argue that building the railway low in the landscape or, where necessary, in a trench, will spoil the view for passengers. Why are passengers prioritised over local people, the taxpayers who are being forced to fund and suffer planning blight for this proposal? Why haven’t EWR Co accommodated the needs and addressed the concerns of tens of thousands of local residents?”
Businessman David Lean, who is also in the Cambridge Approaches working group, said: “The building of the section from Bedford to Cambridge will lead to years of construction woes with the expensive but preferred southern approach to Cambridge, but not just for residents along the line.
“For example, we predict that the remodelling of Cambridge station will cause a decade of train cancellations. Based on HS2/EWR experience in Buckinghamshire we can also expect serious damage to our rural road network and landscape during the years of construction”.
Despite stating in its report that “protecting the environment is a fundamental part of our decision making”, Cambridge Approaches says EWR Co also confirms that the preferred southern route has the highest environmental impact.
EWR Co acknowledges that the route chosen is the closest to the internationally protected Barbastelle bat maternity colonies at Wimpole and Eversden Woods.
The line will cross large swathes of agricultural land, impacting not only on food production and food security but on species of red listed birds such as yellowhammers, skylarks and linnet, and also mammals such as the declining brown hare.
The campaign group argues that EWR Co is clearly prioritising the railway and the housing potential it brings over one of its fundamental aims – “to protect the environment”.
The route announcement was part of Government announcement to unlock growth potential in life sciences between Cambridge and Oxford.
Rail minister Huw Merriman said: “The delivery of East West Rail continues to move at pace and today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to improving travel and supporting economic growth between the historic, thriving cities of Oxford and Cambridge.
“This major railway line is expected to not only boost local economies but also, slash journey times and transform rail travel for passengers in and around the region for generations to come.”
The new railway connecting Bedford with Milton Keynes, Cambridge and Oxford will open up new journeys for local communities, including key interchanges with the East Coast Mainline, Midland Main Line and the West Coast Mainline. It will also shorten east-west journey times and unlock new opportunities for businesses in the area, providing access to a wider pool of talent and the space to expand.
The new line would enable passengers to travel between Cambridge and Oxford and 89 minutes, according to EWR Co’s technical report, compared to a typical 167 minutes by road in a congested morning rush hour.
Cambridge to Cambourne would take 14 minutes, compared to 41, while Cambridge to Tempsford would take 23 minutes, compared to 60. Bedford could be reached in 33 minutes instead of 75, while Stewartby could be reached from Cambridge in 42, instead of 88.
Critics have pointed out, however, that the report entirely fails to mention the time spent travelling to a station – or indeed waiting for a train.
Beth West, CEO of EWR Co, said: “Life sciences have grown around the world at an unprecedented rate over the past two decades, and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is a driver for economic growth, creating high value jobs and attracting investment.
“It brings together the ‘triple helix’ of the public and private sectors, combined with academia, that characterise the most successful life sciences clusters around the globe. After extensive consideration of the alternative, our conclusion remains that approaching Cambridge from the south is the best solution for the city, the region and – given the global opportunity at the Biomedical Campus – for the whole of the UK too.
“Quick, reliable public transport linking Cambridge with Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford continues to have widespread local support and our updated proposals have been shaped by the hundreds of conversations we’ve had with local people, businesses and other stakeholders and the thousands of responses we received to our most recent public consultation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to meet with us and help shape our proposals – and we look forward to seeing you at more community events this summer.”
Four drop-in events in the county have been announced for people to discuss the proposals with East West Railway Co representatives:
Thursday, June 22, 2-8pm – Eversden Village Hall, 4 Chapel Road, Great Eversden, CB23 1HP
Monday, June 26, 2-8pm – Harston Village Hall, 20 High Street, Harston, CB22 7PX
Tuesday, July 11, 2-8pm – Cambridge Belfry Hotel, Back Lane, Cambourne CB23 6BW
Thursday, July 20, 2-8pm – Love’s Farm, 17 Kester Way, St Neots PE19 6SL
References
- ^ economic case presented in EWR Co’s recent reports (www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk)