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,
