New East West Rail Report Outlines Need for Extension to Cambridge and Beyond
With work to link Oxford and Bedford as part of East-West Rail now underway, Mayor Dave Hodgson has welcomed a new report which identifies the huge economic benefit of extending the scheme to Cambridge. The report published this week by the East West Rail Consortium, of which Bedford Borough Council is a member along with other local authorities along the route, states that the it will deliver an economic benefit of up to around £750 million, and could see a direct train link enabling journey times between Cambridge and Bedford of just 24 minutes.
Work on the western section of the East West Rail line linking Oxford and Bedford is going ahead following successful lobbying by Bedford Borough Council and others, and the new line is due to open by 2019. The East West Rail Consortium is now pushing hard for a commitment to the central section on to Cambridge. Another key development is that Network Rail will be leading work to produce a business case for the central section to be delivered to government within two years, with the aim of completing and opening the link between 2019 and 2024.
Commenting, Mayor Dave Hodgson said: "Following the success of the campaign for a new East West rail link between Oxford and Bedford, we now need to press the case for the extension of the route from Bedford to Cambridge and beyond. This new report is further evidence of the huge economic and social benefits that the central section of east west rail to Cambridge will bring. It will deliver millions of pounds of investment, new jobs and important new opportunities for people to access work and leisure opportunities."
The report can be downloaded via the East West Rail Consortium's website, here: http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/shared/ewr-cs_-_cos_-_final_report_08-08-2014.pdf, with an executive summary available here: http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/shared/ewr-cs_-_cos_-_final_report_08-08-2014_executive_summary.pdf