Home Event Blogs Search Results

Oxford to Cambridge rail plans push ahead

1st Aug 2018

Reinstatement of direct railway services between Oxford and Cambridge has moved a step closer after Network Rail submitted its final proposals for phase two of the East West Rail project.

Get ahead with CIHT Membership

Join other savvy professionals just like you at CIHT. We are committed to fulfilling your professional development needs throughout your career

Find out more

Government approval is sought for this next phase of the scheme, which will deliver direct links between Oxford and Bedford, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury for the first time in over half a century.

The submitted Transport & Works Act Order proposes major track and signalling upgrades – including the reinstatement of a ‘mothballed’ section of railway between Bletchley and Claydon Junction – with work potentially starting in 2019.

Colin Murphy, Network Rail’s head of consenting and environment said this latest milestone is the culmination of four years of work developing the scheme and follows three rounds of community consultation. “Once completed, the new railway will connect communities and businesses along the route and beyond, creating new opportunities for jobs, housing and economic growth,” he said.

Phase Two will see the phased introduction of new rail journeys between:

Oxford and Milton Keynes, with trains stopping at Oxford Parkway, Bicester, Winslow and Bletchley
Oxford and Bedford, with trains stopping at Oxford Parkway, Bicester, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont
Milton Keynes and Aylesbury, with trains stopping at Bletchley, Winslow and Aylesbury Vale Parkway

This comes after East West Rail phase one between Oxford and Bicester completed in December 2016. Phase three would then see the full reinstatement of the old varsity line from Cambridge to Oxford.

East West Rail Consortium chairman Mark Shaw said: “East West Rail will drastically reduce journey times within the region, bringing key economic and cultural centres within easy reach of each other. After more than 20 years of campaigning, the submission of the Transport & Works Act Order is a hugely significant milestone.”

Dave Hodgson, Strategic Transport Forum Chair, England’s Economic Heartland’s said: “The Government has made the realisation of the huge economic potential of this region a national priority and East West Rail is fundamental to delivering this. We now need the route between Bedford and Cambridge to be confirmed as soon as possible, so that delivery of the full scheme can be achieved within the Government’s stated target of the mid 2020s.”

Photo: Network Rail