UK’s East West Rail public consultation opens  

The UK’s East West Railway Company (EWR Co) has launched a public consultation on its updated plans for its rail project connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.  Included in the plan is a cut and cover tunnel beneath the A428 and Bourn Airfield development and a 700m tunnel through Chapel Hill, near Haslingfield to avoid having to construct a very large cutting, which would require significant works and could affect the flight paths of Barbastelle bats which live in the area.

The updated proposals, which can be viewed during the third non-statutory public consultation on EWR, contain revised infrastructure and design plans for a new stretch of railway between Bedford and Cambridge, plus essential railway improvement works to upgrade the existing railway between Oxford and Bedford.

The plans have been updated following feedback at our previous non-statutory consultation and further technical design work. The consultation comes after the Government committed to delivering EWR in full in last month’s Budget.

East West Rail will unlock access to jobs and space for businesses to grow, regenerate town centres, improve connectivity across the region and the rest of the UK, and support new affordable housing.

Also included in the updated proposals are:

• Our preference for green traction power in the form of discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains– as well as the environmental benefits such as reducing carbon emissions, discontinuous electrification would mean overhead lines would only need to be installed along some sections of the route, which would reduce disruption during construction and potentially decrease visual impacts in more sensitive locations along the new railway. This option would also cost less than full electrification, reducing the need to alter current structures.
• Station upgrades – this includes relocating Bedford St Johns station to the west to better serve Bedford Hospital and providing alternative car parking for staff, patients and visitors. We would also improve Bedford station by building a new station plaza, extra platforms, footbridges and providing replacement car parking, all to give passengers the best possible experience. We are also planning upgrades to Cambridge station and facilities to accommodate four passenger trains per hour, including two new railway tracks next to the West Anglia Main Line from Shepreth Junction to Cambridge Station, a new platform, platform extensions, footbridges and building upgrades. Potential further station enhancements are earmarked for Oxford, Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village and Bletchley stations, including to parking facilities to meet future demand.
• Two options for station options/service patterns for retaining/consolidating stations on the Marston Vale Line – to provide a three-fold increase in services and reduce journey times, options include retaining existing stations in their current locations or consolidating and delivering new stations.
• A new station at Tempsford– we have designed two options for a new station at Tempsford .
• A new station at Cambourne– we are planning a new station at Cambourne to make it easier and quicker for people to travel into Cambridge. It would also help to bring more people within commuting distance of new jobs in the region, reduce congestion and support the future growth of the town.
• Work to reduce the environmental and construction impacts of our route design– this includes plans to improve the environment in line with our commitment to delivering 10% biodiversity net gain across the whole route.
• Train service hours of operation – we anticipate that passenger services would run between 6am and midnight from Monday to Thursday, between 6am to 1am on Friday and Saturday, and between 7am to 11pm on Sunday.

The non-statutory consultation aims to obtain feedback on the early designs, including areas where we are still considering options. Feedback from the consultation will be taken into account as the designs are further developed and preferred options chosen.

The consultation will run for 10 weeks from 14^th November 2024 to 24^th January 2025. A series of public drop-in and online events are being held across the route to provide opportunities to meet the EWR Co team and find out more about the updated proposals.