Government gives East West Rail the green light
The government has announced that it is committed to delivering East West Rail. In her speech for the Autumn 2024 Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the government will deliver East West Rail ‘to drive growth between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge’. In a budget policy paper, the government says that East West Rail will ‘unlock land’ for housing and laboratories and support the Cambridge life sciences cluster.
The East West Rail project involves the upgrade and reconstruction of a rail line from Oxford to Cambridge with new stations at Tempsford (near St Neots) and Cambourne. The project is being carried out in three phases, called connection stages. Connection stages 1 and 2 involve the upgrade and reconstruction of the rail line between Oxford and Bedford. For connection stage 3, a new rail line will be built between Bedford and Cambridge.
Partial line electrification
East West Rail announced that the trains on the rail line will be powered by a system called ‘discontinuous electrification’ using hybrid battery-electric trains. With this system, overhead lines are built for some sections of the route. For sections where there are no overhead lines, onboard batteries would power the train. East West Rail says this method costs less than full electrification of the line and would reduce the impact of construction.
Consultation dates announced
East West Rail has announced that it will hold a non-statutory consultation from 14 November 2024 to 24 January 2025. It will hold both in-person and online events. Consultation materials will be available from 14 November 2024.
OxCam Arc
East West Rail is part of the OxCam Arc, supported by previous Conservative governments and currently backed by businesses, investors and universities. The OxCam Arc is a plan for economic and housing growth in the area between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge. With water sources in the region at capacity, we’re concerned that growth and climate change will only exacerbate the problem. Other concerns include:
Construction of car-dependent housing on greenfield land.
Damage to biodiversity and the countryside.
Agricultural land taken out of use for food production.
In addition, the planned route may require the demolition of homes in Bedford.