News from the East Anglian Branch of Railfuture, edited by Martin Thorne and Jerry Alderson.
Railfuture News Snippets 387 - 30/06/2025
- EAST WEST RAIL LINK [all issues]
- STATIONS [all issues]
- Proposal for new station south of King's Lynn
- GCP Joint Assembly discusses latest plans for relocated Waterbeach station to serve new housing development
- RAIL FREIGHT [all issues]
- GUIDED BUSWAY [all issues]
Rail patronage continues to recover from the pandemic. Quarterly figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) covering January to March 2025 were very positive. It also released the 12-month figures from April 2024 to March 2025, which showed a 7% increase in passenger journeys (from 1.61 billion to 1.73 billion) compared to the year from April 2023 to March 2024. Total passenger revenue was also trending upwards and totalled £11.5bn in the latest year, which was up 8% on the previous year. Statistics from the DfT show passenger numbers for May 2025 at a record monthly high average of 104% per day compared with pre-pandemic levels. Statistics can be read on the ORR data portal.
On 4th June 2025, former Transport Minister, Huw Merriman, announced on LinkedIn that he has joined the Rail Freight Group (RFG) to help grow the market share of freight moved on the railway. He had sought guidance from the Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which review appointments for former ministers during the two years since leaving government. The new post has been funded following the winding up of Rail Partners (RP). The freight operating companies (FOCs) that subscribed to both RP and RFG have decided to employ Mr Merriman via an enhanced contribution to RFG. This is while the Rail Reform Bill is working through Parliamentary process.
A Network Rail press release shows how the land around the new Cambridge South station is being returned to nature by the contractors before they depart, and how the station itself will have have plants etc. Meanwhile, the Cambridge News reported a visit to the station by the new CPCA Mayor, Paul Bristow, in early June 2025, in which he described the station as being 'crucial' to getting region moving, saying "Being able to get a train to work or to medical appointments on the Biomedical Campus will make a huge difference for a lot of people's lives. This station will support the growth of one of the UK's most important employment sites, and which is a base for world class patient care, cutting-edge life sciences and scientific breakthroughs."
According to a press release, more than £1.5m has been spent on repainting 35 Greater Anglia stations. These include Ely, Colchester Town, Great Yarmouth and Stansted Mountfitchet. Eight stations — Attleborough, Colchester Town, Felixstowe, Lowestoft, March, Roydon, Thetford and Wivenhoe — were repainted following £69,000 funding from The Railway Heritage Trust. The repainting project began in October 2024 and was completed in May 2025.
Ed Sheeran will perform three concerts at Portman Road in Ipswich in July. Greater Anglia has arranged extra trains to help fans travel home from Ipswich after each show.
Sunday 15th June 2025 saw more digital signalling engineering work on the East Coast Main Line, which affected trains (there were no trains between Potters Bar and Royston or Peterborough, between Hertford North and Stevenage and between London King's Cross or St Pancras International and Finsbury Park. The work involved further system testing using trains from long distance operator Grand Central and commuter operator Great Northern. High-speed runs were undertaken between Finsbury Park and Huntingdon to test the trains moving in and out of the upgraded section between Welwyn and Hitchin. Digitally signalled passenger services are expected to operate through this section from 2026. Further preparatory work was also undertaken in the evening for the introduction of digital signalling between Biggleswade and Peterborough. See news story.
New Combined Authority Mayor, Paul Bristow, has said that time is up for the Greater Cambridge partnership (CGP), which has been obsessed with bus-based solutions for Cambridge and its surroundings, promoting more busways, which always seem to be controversial and considered as poor value for money, lacking public and political support. Instead, he has his sights on light rail for Cambridge, and confirmed to the Cambridge Independent newspaper that early work is already under way to explore light rail, including plans for a formal feasibility study that could be announced in the coming weeks. He said: "Light rail is the transport solution that Cambridgeshire needs and deserves." He has been impressed by the Very Light Rail (VLR) tram system in Coventry city centre — although only 220 metres long, and built as a demonstration system, it has been declared a success by both Coventry City Council and Colas Rail UK, having only taken a few months to construct before services ran (see article).
Rail replacement buses will run on three consecutive days from Saturday 5th to Monday 7th July on the railway line between Norwich and Ely to enable work to be performed underneath the line at Wymondham for a new subway (next to the existing Station Road railway underbridge) to improve access to Wymondham town centre for pedestrians and cyclists. The existing narrow footpath under the bridge will be removed, helping to enhance traffic flows for motorists.
In mid-June 2025 the government officially confirmed that it would be providing £48m towards the Peterborough Station Quarter project, having approved the project in mid-May. The project was covered in detail in RAIL EAST 206 and also at the Railfuture mini-conference in Peterborough on 15th May 2025.
In [Snippets 384] it was mentioned that the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership was conducting a survey to gauge community support concerning the future of the old station building at Trimley St Mary station. It was chaired by Suffolk Coastal MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter. Councillors and campaigners fighting for the station's future were present, along with representatives of Greater Anglia, charity SAVE Britain's Heritage, The East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership and The Railway Heritage Trust. The East Anglian Daily Times (EADT) reported that a well-attended meeting at Felixstowe Town Hall on Thursday 26th June 2025 agreed to setup a working group to work towards a sustainable use for a derelict station building, which has stood unused since the 1960s.
Stansted Airport has ambitions to grow, and that needs more people to travel to and from the airport by train. Its owner would like trains to run to Stratford as well as Liverpool Street, and has an ambition to promote Stratford as an alternative London destination for airport passengers, subject to capacity on the well-used Elizabeth line. The previous Stratford-Stansted service ran prior to the introduction of the current Stansted-Norwich service; the single-track can carry seven trains per hour in each direction, although it's limited to six trains per hour to allow for Stansted Express turnaround times at the airport.
On 18th June 2025, the Department for Transport (DfT) issued a press release about re-uniting track and train (see here), which was specifically about Southeastern and Network Rail uniting to operate as South Eastern Railway, which it expects to reduce costs by £50m a year. This raises the question of whether something similar willl happen after Greater Anglia moves to the public sector in October 2025.
The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) holding open day on Saturday 12th July 2025 to attract volunteers. It will give people interested in volunteering the chance to meet current volunteers, visit different areas of the railway, and learn about the roles available. See: details.
The Nene Valley Railway, based in Peterborough, had launched an appeal to help it get "back on track" after facing "stark financial challenges" since 2020. Thanks to both grants and donations, it has raised £120,000 in just one year against its £300,000 target to refill the railway's reserves enabling the railway to maintain operations, conduct essential repairs and embark on vital infrastructure upgrades and restoration projects to ensure its long-term viability.
During the early hours of Sunday 8th June 2025, Oulton Broad North Station signal box, on the Wherry Railway Line, was lifted by a crane to be moved to its new home at the East Anglia Transport Museum in Carlton Colville. Accoding to the Eastern Daily Press, the top part was moved first, then the base was moved on to a separate lorry. Police had to escort both lorries to the transport museum.
According to an article in the Lynn News, construction firm JN Crane Hire has gained retrospective permission to keep a trio of storage containers at its site on Gayton Road in East Winch (in Norfolk). The Middleton Towers Restoration Group, which was set up in 2021, objected as it fears that any new structure would damage its hopes to reopen the former railway between King's Lynn and Narborough. However, council officers advised members of the planning committee that the risk of affecting the railway ambitions would be minimal as it was not a permanent structure and that the storage containers could be moved if needed.
There is still no announcement of a date for passenger services on the East West Rail using the recently rebuilt route from Bicester to Bletchley, although half-hourly trains are in the working timetable (WTT) from 28th June 2025. Rumours suggest a start in very late 2025 or even early 2026. There have been at least two charter passenger services, with another planned on 19th July 2025 from Crewe to Bletchley, Bicester and Aylesbury, titled "The Mark Hare Memorial Train." Mark was driver manager at Aylesbury and involved in EWR driver training. The railtour includes a visit to Aylesbury Depot. On Saturday 25th October 2025, the first steam special — The Varsity Explorer, run by The Railway Touring Company — is planned, beginning in Slough and picking up passengers in Reading, Oxford Parkway, and Bicester Village. In the meantime, the first commercial freight train used the route on Monday 16th June 2025, starting at Didcot the Oxford and onto the new infrastructure travelling to Milton Keynes to connect with the West Coast Main Line. Read an article about this here and the Network Rail press release, which includes a video of the freight train passing Winslow. A proposal to add a freight passing loop in the Islip area is being considered.
EAST WEST RAIL LINK
Proposal for Universal's build UK theme park near Bedford moves forward as it seeks permission
Keywords: [UniversalThemePark]
The proposal by Universal Studios for a UK theme park near Bedford, which would be served by both East West Rail and Thameslink trains, has regularly been in the news. According to a BBC News story on 26th June 2025, Universal has formally submitted a planning permission request to the government's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for a Special Development Order (SDO), instead of applying to the local planning authority. The application would be for "an entertainment resort complex featuring a world-class theme park with several themed lands, visitor accommodation, as well as a range of retail, dining and entertainment uses", according to a Universal spokesperson. Universal said it aimed to start construction in 2026.
The theme park would border a long stretch of East West Rail, so the location of the station is not set in stone. To cope with demand, the planned Wixams station on the Midland Mainline would need to be built as a four-platform station, serving both fast and slow lines, rather than the originally intended two platforms just for the slow lines, whci would have needed only one track realigning. The expanded station could increase the cost of the Wixams station from the original £62.6m cost to £300m according to an article on the New Civil Engineer website. Network Rail's pipeline notice estimates the project will run from February 2027 through to November 2030 with procurement for the station development kicking off in December 2025. A total of £500m of public investment in rail and road infrastructure, including road access from the A421 as well as the two stations has been secured.
STATIONS
Proposal for new station south of King's Lynn
According to an article in the Eastern Daily Press (EDP), a working group of travel experts and councillors has identified a need for a new facility south of King's Lynn to support the area's growing population. After assessing three potential sites, it has decided it should be constructed near the Nar Ouse Way enterprise zone - a key area set for regeneration. The location was chosen for its close proximity to the West Winch growth area, where more than 4,000 homes will be built, and because it could be constructed on the existing railway line. The group is seeking to influence the future transport strategy for King's Lynn and has called for a viability study to be conducted. Steve Bearshaw, deputy mayor of King's Lynn and a member of the group, said: "This is not a desire, it is a need."
GCP Joint Assembly discusses latest plans for relocated Waterbeach station to serve new housing development
Keywords: [WaterbeachStation]
On Thursday 19th June 2025 the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership (GCP) Joint Assembly discussed the full business case contained in the latest papers for the meeting that relate to the £40m relocated Waterbeach station, which is due to be completed in 2027. Relocating the station is intended to meet the population increase as the new town of Waterbeach develops with the creation of 11,000 homes. According to the Cambridge News, the papers show how the new station would integrate with other transport schemes in the area such as the Waterbeach to Cambridge busway and Waterbeach Greenway. The papers also explain how facilities at the new station could be developed via modular units as the station develops in line with passenger numbers. The GCP said that The station would "bring longer, accessible platforms, better integration with cycling and bus facilities and will not conflict with motor vehicles as the current facility does with a crossing splitting the station in half." It is still intended to close the existing station — the legal process to do so will be progressed through a Department for Transport 12-week consultation expected in autumn 2025.
News: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/new-details-show-how-40m-31827862.
RAIL FREIGHT
First rail track panels arrive at Sziewell C for use on a new railhead with three sidings
Keywords: [SizewellBranch]
On 17th June 2025, a post on X/Twitter from Sizewell C announced that the first straight plain line track panels — manufactured off-site by Balfour Beatty Rail in Cambridgeshire — have arrived at Sizewell C's Ancillary Construction Area. They will be installed over the coming months to form a new railhead with three sidings, enabling materials to be brought to the site by train. Rail Senior Project Manager, David Smith, said: "Pre-fabrication [of the track panels] off-site is quicker, safer, and more efficient when it comes to the construction phase, allowing us to remain on programme for the critical rail deliveries."
French state-owned energy giant EDF is the minority owner of Sizewell C, while the UK Government is the majority owner. EDF bought the Suffolk site for the new nuclear power station in 2009 and submitted its first proposal for Sizewell C in 2012. It then submitted its development consent order (DCO) application in 2020. A final investment decision (FID) is expected in July 2025 and completion is scheduled for the mid 2030s.
GUIDED BUSWAY
Fencing may be added to northern section of Cambridgeshire Guided Busway to improve safety
As reported in [Snippets 385], Camrbdgeshre coutny Counil was finded £6 million over the deaths of three people on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. Two of these were on the southern section where fencing has since been added on a short stretch from Cambridge station to Long road bridge, but nothing has been done on the northern section, which was built on the former St Ives railway line and is where the first of the deaths occurred, in 2015.
According to a BBC New story published on 10th June 2025, a report was to be presented to councillors on 17th June, which estimated it could cost £4.7m to install a fence or barriers along more of the guided busway. Another problem, known about at the design stage was that the adjacent maintenance track/cycle way/birdgele way between the Holywell crossing and Fen Drayton floods at various times during teyear. A concern has always been that people would walk along the busway instead. The council is now considering solutions such as a pontooned walkway, whiich was estimated to cost £5m, but more design work was needed to confirm the cost.
News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c14kde227yro.amp.
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Railfuture East Anglia Branch News Snippets 387 - 30/06/2025
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