Introduction of a new direct rail link from Oxford into East Anglia has moved a step closer after work was commissioned to develop a business case for the proposed eastern section of the East West Rail project.
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Consultant Steer has been appointed by the East West Rail Consortium to produce the business case, which will be used to demonstrate to the Department for Transport the economic benefit of improving journey times and service frequencies from Ipswich and Norwich to Cambridge, and providing direct services to Oxford.
The scheme would complement current work on a western section of East West Rail linking Oxford to Bedford, Ayesbury and Milton Keynes, and plans for a central section from Bedford to Cambridge.
“Building a new railway connection would transform connectivity and journey times across our region and with the rest of the country,” said East West Rail’s eastern section group chair Alexander Nicoll of Suffolk County Council.
“This would bring huge benefits to passengers and businesses, driving economic growth and creating opportunities for housing and new jobs. It will also go a long way to get people out of their cars, providing a greener more sustainable transport system.”
If the business case is successful, DfT funding will be used to develop the next stage of the project’s eastern leg, which is to assess the rail infrastructure requirements and develop a preferred rail infrastructure option.
Norfolk County Council’s cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport Martin Wilby said: “Improvements would cut out unnecessary journeys into London and in the future allow people to travel direct, right through to Oxford. I look forward to a strong business case being developed which will help secure the much needed funding to bring a welcome boost to the region.”
The East West Rail Consortium’s chair Sue Clark emphasised that, although each section of the project will bring significant benefits, “the full transformational benefit will only to be realised through the delivery of all three sections to create the East West Main Line”.
It is hoped that the improvements necessary to deliver the eastern section could be in place during the early to middle part of the 2020s.
Photograph: John Sutton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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