The Cambridge conundrum of East-West Rail and what is to be done.
ERTA is very much engaging with matters
pertaining to getting the following sorted:
1. East-West Rail via St Johns Bedford
going eastwards, not the Northern Route E.
2. Our call is for the Borough Council
to see sense and support no. 1 above.
3. At Tempsford, to have a grade
separated junction with physical rail connectivity between the outer slow lines
and the east-west twin track lines to enable through passenger and freight
running.
That said, we are mindful of a few things:
1. East of Tempsford is proposed to call
at Cambourne (expanding location) and then journey south to join the existing
Royston-Cambridge line and a spur for direct running to Stansted maybe (?)
2. Cambridge is a busy rail theatre with
only a twin track solution capacity currently and even with 4 tracks to serve
Addenbrookes (Cambridge South Station/new) it is unlikely they will be
continuous to Cambridge Station itself, partly due to the built environment and
the road bridge and Guided Busway which would be closed in such an expansion of
railway lands. The Guided Busway from Trumpington-Cambridge Station utilises
the former trackbed of the old Bedford-Cambridge Railway.
3. So, where will freight go? Our suggestion
is a new track/railway linking off the Soham/Ely lines across country to south
of Godmanchester to link to the East Coast Main Line (ECML) for onwards via Tempsford
to Bedford and the Oxford corridor via St Johns. It needs to be identified,
protected, studied and accepted now and could do Norwich/Ipswich-Oxford longer
distance cross-country passenger and freight and alleviate Cambridge, which has
its own services east-west anyway.
4. If the east-west rail south of
Cambourne is doable – a big if now, let alone with 10 years of continued rapid
expansion and development – then that should be for passenger services only.
5. The old northern junction off the St
Ives line was decimated by building Cambridge North Station over Chesterton Junction
and imposition of Guided Busway.
6. The old Bedford-Cambridge route and
Trumpington Junction were destroyed by Guided Busway, Trumpington Park and
Ride, Trumpington Meadows built development, a school Playing field, River Cam,
M11 motorway corridor and combinedly informs a set of dynamics which block any
recovery without high costs and upheaval. Pity, we did make strenuous efforts
and campaigned to save the chances, but powers and authorities overruled and
capitulated to expediency of other agendas.
7. So, if East-West Rail is to serve
Cambridge it either has to:
a. be allowed to build from
Tempsford-Cambourne and head south to the Royston-Cambridge and Stansted lines.
b. Not happen at all.
c. Build a new line to Ely/Soham and
have a reversal or curve for direct passenger running off that to Cambridge. It
needs studying, it needs engineering solutions.
8. Development is going in apace and were warned with Regional Spatial Strategies and plethora of Consultations over decades it was coming and now is upon us. Thus, if you don’t allow land and intrusion of a railway, you still have the development and consequences more and expanded roads, urban congestion, pollution and parking delays/costs, mayhem and noise 24x7 contrast a train which once gone, peace returns. Thus, objectors to the railway of any configuration, still won’t change the countryside being sacrificed for Cambridge, yea Greater Cambridge growing to and beyond M11 perimeter, Then all of Caxton-Royston by dint and stint over coming years. As night follows day, it is coming. A railway could be part of the puzzle to alleviate roads and better connect communities, but things are a-changing and the truth and answer truly is ‘blowing in the wind’ to any able, willing and apprehending it.
I am willing to liaise, talk and engage, but it needs professionals to number crunch, design and plan and deliver in a timely manner. NIMBY objectors, need to pool resources and not just say no to whatever, but Plan B, study and put the practical answer and solution in a report and send to local councils, MP’s and whoever/whatever agency/people who may listen.
Bar Hill is marginal as a border of Greater Cambridge, 10 years hence it will be assumed into urban cordon. Northstowe new town like Cambourne, no use saying “send a rail there” without giving thought to lands, routing and specifics and crucially where the line links existing lines. Light Rail and Guided Busways should be seen segregated to heavy rail. We do need more people and goods off roads and onto rails. No east-west rail means that is merely wishful thinking.
Final thought, end to end timings is all
well and good as per discussions of rail speed. But I have sat in an X5 Coach,
now 905 double-decker bus, and witnessed congestion radial of Cambridge on the
A428 between Cambridge and the A1 at St Neots – solid traffic! Cambridge is a
key place a variety of people wish to get to/from. We must have choices and
consider the environmental balances with no rail access. Compromises on all
sides are inevitable. No man or place is an island! See John Donne’s poem: https://allpoetry.com/No-man-is-an-island
Richard Pill /27-02-21
richard.erta@gmail.com / https://ertarail.co.uk/publicity/
East West Main Line
Inbox
Stephanie Morley stephaniemorley2004@yahoo.co.uk
Dear Richard,
My name is Stephanie Jack and I am coordinating the Eversden EWR working group.
Your email that was sent to the Eversden Parish council was forwarded to me as they thought it
might be of interest.
We created our working group back in November after a webinar held by Cambridge Approaches
and CamBedRailRoad was held discussing the proposed option E route by East West Main Line.
Since then we have connected all the villages within the proposed route from Cambourne to
Cambridge south station and have been raising awareness about what is planned.
We have many concerns about the proposed route ranging from environmental issues, costs,
community connections or lack of, the unknown freight element and the lack of consultation.
We along with Cambridge Approaches are now asking for a full and fair consultation on a northern
approach which would use a multi modal existing transport corridor to connect at Cambourne via
a north station and continue on to Northstowe and enter Cambridge via the north station.
We support this option as it supports the growing settlements within our area
(Cambourne and Northstowe) it would be less impactful environmentally, it uses existing travel
routes, it could potentially have better links for Ely and Norfolk and could also mean that freight
could bypass Cambridge city altogether.
We have support from our local MP Anthony Browne and the petition supporting this has
surpassed 6k signatures.
Essentially I think we both want similar things, to avoid freight going through our cities and
wondered if we could mutually support each other’s aims. I have linked CamBedRailRoads
website that shows how they propose the route south of Bedford through to Cambridge north station,
I know you are aware of there route from seeing a previous tweet.
http://www.cambedrailroad.org/
I have linked below the comparisons between a north and south Cambridge route researched by
Cambridge Approaches.
https://cambridgeapproaches.
The petition asking for a northern approach consultation
The Wildlife Trust report comparison to a north and south route.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
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