Delight as study finds that rail link between East Anglia and Oxfordshire will create economic and social benefits

A study by the East West Rail Consortium finds there will be real economic and social benefits gained by linking East Anglia, through Cambridge and Bedford, to Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and the west.

This new line, which has support across the political spectrum at all levels of government as well as from business leaders and transport campaigners, now has a solid economic case.

What some once regarded as a ‘pipe dream’ in 1995 when Railfuture wrote the original paper, which led to local authorities across the region setting up the East West Rail Consortium, will soon be a vital economic artery serving every part of the region.

The report shows that the new railway will provide unheard of connectivity improvements across the region with, for example, Cambridge to Oxford being connected by frequent trains in just 60 minutes, Cambridge to Bedford in just 28 minutes.

Railfuture now looks to Network Rail to consult quickly with the consortium to establish the business case and to plan the most beneficial route from Cambridge to Bedford to enable the route to be approved by the transport planning laws and open fully to Oxford by 2022 or earlier.

PETER WAKEFIELD

Chairman, Railfuture East Anglian Branch

Via e-mail