East West Rail Company (EWR Co) has announced the preferred route for the Oxford – Cambridge rail services, part of the GBP 5 billion (EUR 5.7 billion) East West Rail project.
The announcement recognises that delivering this new line is critical to improving connections between UK science powerhouses Oxford and Cambridge and will bring more investment to the region.
Construction of the railway between Bicester and Bletchley is already well underway and track-laying passed the halfway mark earlier this year before passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes begin in 2025.
Plans for the rest of the route have been updated following feedback from the second non-statutory public consultation with local people, which has been analysed alongside environmental and technical studies.
The updated proposals include a route alignment that best serves the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, new stations near Tempsford and at Bedford Hospital, connecting the new section of railway between Bedford and Cambridge with the East Coast Main Line, protecting the reliability of existing services using the busy Midland Main Line, significant reductions to the need for and height of embankments and viaducts. The project will see trains at every 20 minutes on Marston Vale Line, which would mean a three-fold increase in services per hour between Bletchley and Bedford.
“People deserve access to public transport wherever they live, and EWR is a once in a generation opportunity to open up new journeys, cut travel times, ease congestion on local roads and bring more jobs within reach of people living locally,” Beth West, CEO, EWR Co, said.
The new railway connecting Oxford with Milton Keynes and Cambridge will open up new journeys for local communities, including key interchanges with the West Coast Mainline, Midland Mainline and East Coast Mainline. It will also shorten east-west travel times and
unlock new opportunities for businesses in the area, providing access to a wider pool of talent and the space to expand.
“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,” Rail Minister, Huw Merriman said.
Further feasibility and technical assessments are currently underway and will be presented for feedback along with the updated route proposals during the next phase of public consultation, which EWR Co expects to take place in the first half of 2024. Services
between Milton Keynes and Oxford are expected to be running by 2025.
The Oxford – Cambridge rail connection will be delivered into three stages including the Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes (phase one), the Oxford to Bedford (phase two) and Oxford to Cambridge (phase three).
Network Rail was responsible for developing the first part of the East West Rail, connecting Oxford with Bicester, and is a partner in a construction alliance to deliver Connection Stage 1 of the project, where East West Railway Company and Network Rail are acting as the Department for Transport’s joint sponsors.
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