News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, Edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 365 - 30/08/2023
The Mid-Suffolk Rail Passengers Association (MARPA) will be holding its AGM betweem 13:30 and 16:30 on Saturday 21st October 2023.
RAIL ROUTES
East West Rail CEO talks to Cambridge Independent about Bedford-Cambridge central section
Keywords: [EastWestRail]
In early August 2023, the Chief Executive of the government's East West Rail Company, Beth West, gave an interview to the Cambridge Independent newspaper. Ther most controversial aspect for rail campaigners is whether the line will be electrified — every other European country would ensure that a new mainline was electrified but the UK government seems only to consider costs. Ms West said "Nobody wants a diesel train on a new railway. Technology is evolving rapidly so we are looking at whether or not it's going to be fully electrified with wires, if it's going to be a bi-mode so you've got a wires and battery combination — it may involve financing that as well in order to get that delivered.
The EWR Company will require a Development Consent Order (DCO) to construct the line, to which there are numerous objectors who live along or close to the route. Beth West said: "One of the things we need to spend a lot more time doing is explaining to people how the railway might not be coming to their village, but what it will be doing is taking cars off the roads to their village." The company aims to hold its first statutory consultation in the first half of 2024 (a non-statutory consultation was held in 2021).
Best West described East West Rail as not just a railway but an "economic project" that is designed to bring sustainable growth across the region. There are land opportunities around those stations with potential for development. The population of Cambourne could grow from 9,200 to 53,400, while Tempsford in Bedfordshire, the site of another proposed station, could swell from 600 to 44,000, a figure dubbed "insane" by the parish council chairman David Sutton. Ms West said in her view it "would be unfortunate" for local authorities to not consider the stations in their plans for future development.
Additional content will be added to this page.
Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 365 - 30/08/2023
[Prev Issue (364)] [Snippets Issues] [Next Issue (366)] [Category List] [Keyword List] [People List] [Story List] [Branch Dashboard]