Press Release 28-08-2018

28 August 2018

Press Release

East-West Rail routes need hurrying along and Councils must protect options in planning decisions

ERTA is concerned that on the one hand the East-West Rail Consultants need to be urged to speed up publication of their proposed Bedford-Cambridge rail route and on the other, alternate interpretations unless one and the same for gauging public reaction purposes, speculate on possible options causing unnecessary NIMBYism to arise.

What the predecessor to the English Regional Transport Association (ERTA) from 1987 advocated was a rebuilding of the traditional rail route from Bedford-Sandy-Cambridge. Blockages exist and either need compulsory purchase and demolition or deviated railway route to avoid. This may seem controversial, and would be even if it was a new roadway, but to plum for brand new routes brings other blockages and obstacles to the fore as well as working with the grain of history and the lie of the land contrast costly cuttings and tunnels to intertwine with ridges and hills for example.

Richard Pill, ERTA Media Spokesperson said “These new ideas want to serve purported greater populations enroute including the St Neots and Cambourne areas. But run into problems with a clash to move the Guided Busway as their scheme assumes the same route. It is crucial the East-West Rail does have links with Peterborough and St Neots from the north and Stevenage and East Bedfordshire from the south to the County Town of Bedford and onwards to other places. My own view would be to get to Sandy and then bypass built Potton and Gamlingay with perhaps a shared station between the two of them and either short term link at Shepreth or raise the M11 and tunnel into Addenbrookes Junction Station and run into Cambridge from there. Development pressures are on and time is running out for recovering a reasonably direct route.

End Press Release

Further comment: Mr Richard Pill 01234 330090 or richard.erta@gmail.com

Refs. http://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cambridge/a-vision-of-how-east-west-rail-could-look-under-think-tank-s-proposals-1-5666406?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social_Icon&utm_campaign=in_article_social_icons and

https://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/feature-east-west-rail-central-section-route-options/

Addendum: We are following developments closely and making our input as we go. That we are talking about a route at all is some progress, but Government should be encouraging early delivery and that means putting the preferred option in the public domain and letting the people decide. Tweaks on a core route theme seem more sensible than completely new build as none have blockage free trajectories and it is essential that East Bedfordshire and St Neots are both linked to the County Town of Bedford by rail again. That translates to one route, curves and chords onto and from it and sharing of tracks with east-west trains, Thameslinks and freight. That is why we need extra platforms and tracks through Bedford Midland and I welcome to chat to leading planners or politicians as to how best that might be done, it can, we have windows of opportunity but existing plans need revising to cater for it. After electrification and dust settles, we're locked-in to a straight jacket and will have less wriggle room unless we get other councils like Corby to think ahead and cater for relocation of train serving depots for example. I attach a map of what we were considering in 2006.