The Government has announced £760 million to support the new East West Rail line connecting communities between Oxford and Cambridge.
The investment means further vital construction work can begin and represents an important milestone in the East West Rail project. The funding is for part of the line between Oxford and Bletchley/Milton Keynes and means this section of East West Rail is expected to be up and running by 2025. Delivery of this stage is expected to provide work for 1,500 people, injecting an estimated £1.1bn pounds into the local economy.
The new rail connections will provide opportunities for people right across the area by:
- Making it cheaper, easier and quicker to get around in the future - connecting people to their jobs, homes and families, as well as businesses to their employees, suppliers and customers
- Supporting new housing so people can afford to live and work in the area, and businesses can afford to create more jobs and increase productivity.
As well as improving quality of life for people in the area, East West Rail will help the local economy to:
- Make places more appealing for people wanting to start and grow businesses - attracting and retaining the best talent in the region, while encouraging new investment to support the economy
- Spreading prosperity across the UK - creating growth for towns and cities outside of London. The National Infrastructure Commission estimated that creating these transport links and supporting the area between Oxford and Cambridge was worth nearly £80bn extra each year for the British economy.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“Restoring railways helps put communities back on the map and this investment forms part of our nationwide effort to build back vital connections and unlock access to jobs, education and housing.
“Returning these routes to their former glory, and progressing work to reopen even more lines and stations, shows our commitment to levelling up journeys across the country as we build back better from the pandemic.”
The investment announcement also sees EWR Co confirm a phased approach to delivering the East West Rail project, which will reduce disruption for local communities along the route. The project will now be delivered in three “Connection Stages”, relating directly to a full journey – not just the building of infrastructure:
- Connection Stage One: Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes
- Connection Stage Two: Oxford to Bedford
- Connection Stage Three: Oxford to Cambridge
This new joined-up approach will help EWR Co:
- deliver the best value for taxpayers – by properly integrating the whole railway all the way from planning to operations, which will ensure best value for the taxpayer
- minimise disruption for local communities – EWR Co is looking to find the best way to reduce the length and level of disruption for local communities across all connection stages
- increase reliability of services – the project is about more than just laying down steel and concrete: EWR Co is thinking about how timetables and connections with other parts of the rail network will impact on journeys, helping ensure reliable services are delivered from day one.
Simon Blanchflower CBE, Chief Executive Officer at East West Railway Company, said:
“We are delighted that the Government has made this significant investment decision for East West Rail and the Oxford Cambridge Arc. This means we can now get on with the construction work and connect communities who live on the East West Rail route.
“We are committed to improving connectivity across the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and fully recognise our responsibility to ensure that the railway is delivered in a way that minimises disruption, supports the regional economy, maximises benefits and supports jobs across the region.”
Cllr Sue Clark, Chair of the East West Rail Consortium, said:
“We welcome the Government’s continued commitment to delivering East West Rail. Today’s announcement means that in just a few years’ time, we will see the first East West Rail services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes – a milestone worth celebrating.
“We look forward to having confirmation that Milton Keynes-Aylesbury and Bletchley-Bedford will also be delivered as soon as possible. While each section brings its own benefits to the communities it serves, East West Rail’s full transformational potential will only be realised if it is delivered in full.
“We will continue to press the case for the investment in these two sections by working with the East West Railway Company to ensure that their proposals meet the requirements of users and communities for the decades to come. And we will continue to press the Government for an early decision on the investment that will allow those sections to be delivered as soon as possible.”
ENDS
Download Press Pack (106MB) (Connections Stages Map & Videos)
Notes to editors
About the East West Rail project
East West Rail will create a new direct connection between Oxford and Cambridge. Serving communities across the area, it will bring faster journey times and lower transport costs as well as easing pressure on local roads.
East West Rail is being delivered in three Connection Stages
- Connection Stage One: Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes
- Connection Stage Two: Oxford to Bedford
- Connection Stage Three: Oxford to Cambridge
Network Rail was responsible for developing the first part of the East West Rail, connecting Oxford with Bicester, and is a partner in a construction alliance to deliver Connection Stage 1 of the project, where East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is acting as the Department for Transport’s sponsor.
EWR Co is now developing the route to enable services to run to Cambridge via Bedford and will be seeking statutory powers under the Planning Act 2008, following a period of extensive consultation.
About East West Railway Company
East West Railway Company (EWR Co) was set up by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2018 to develop East West Rail, a railway with customers and communities at its core.
We have a mission to innovate and challenge the status-quo in the rail and construction industries, leading to a more efficient and cost-effective project delivery, and a great experience for passengers and the communities we serve.
Our distinctive outlook and commitment to doing the right thing for our customers and local communities runs through everything we do and every decision we make.
Connection Stages
Connecting Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes, plus further work on Aylesbury proposal
Connection Stage 1
In the November 2020 Spending Review, the Government committed to investment for the infrastructure on East West Rail between Bicester and Bletchley. This commitment means we can build on work already started by the East West Rail Alliance at Winslow station and Bletchley flyover, as they begin to construct the new railway.
Our aim is to have trains running between Oxford and Milton Keynes by 2025. But we are very clear – we will not introduce a service that would be unreliable for our passengers, or cause delays elsewhere on the railway. For that reason, we are working with Network Rail and DfT to demonstrate that this service will be reliable from day one..
In the worst case, it may be that we need to introduce the service to Bletchley first and then extend it to Milton Keynes, once we have proved it will run on time. We would rather be transparent about that now, so people know what we are working hard to achieve.
We continue to explore options on how to connect Aylesbury with our colleagues in the Department for Transport and Network Rail. The original plans would not have provided local communities with a reliable service, and this section requires more investment than originally planned. There is further work to do to demonstrate to Government that this connection represents the best value for money for taxpayers.
Connecting Oxford to Bedford: upgrading Bedford Station and the section between Bletchley to Bedford
Connection Stage 2
This Connection Stage is about creating a reliable connection for two trains an hour between Oxford and Bedford – which can then be extended to Cambridge in later Connection Stages.
Some works on this section were previously proposed and consented as part of the Western Section, but they are not sufficient to run a reliable 2 tph service to Bedford, let alone extend that service to Cambridge. EWR Co are looking at this holistically, to deliver the full Oxford-Cambridge service, and that is going to require significantly more investment than envisaged by Network Rail for the Western Section – including the remodelling of Bedford Station.
Our ambition is to get trains up and running from Oxford to Bedford as quickly as possible, so we’re looking at upgrade options, and the best way to deliver the upgrade required. We’ll put forward proposals as part of the consultation in early 2021 and submit our funding bid to Government for the construction of this section of East West Rail in the 2021 Spending Review.
Connecting Oxford to Cambridge
Connection Stage 3
This is the final connection stage of the East West Rail project and completes the journey between Oxford and Cambridge.
In January 2020, we shared the route option announcement with you, which identifies the broad geographical area the line will run through. You can find further details of that announcement on the EWR Co website.
We are currently identifying potential route alignments for the new railway between Bedford and Cambridge that are needed to deliver Connection Stage 3 and will consult with local communities on these proposals in early 2021.
Following the consultation, we’ll be looking to unlock Government funding for this final section in the 2021 Spending Review.
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