Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, has approved Network Rail's application and grants permission for work to begin on Phase 2 of East-West Rail.
The first direct rail link in more than 50 years between Oxford, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury has been given the green light for further work.
Once complete, phase 2 of East-West Rail would connect communities between Oxford and Bedford, and Milton Keynes and Aylesbury, with:
- Two trains per hour each way between Oxford and Milton Keynes
- One train per hour each way between Oxford and Bedford
- One train per hour each way between Milton Keynes and Aylesbury
The new railway will also connect the Great Western mainline, Chiltern main line, West Coast mainline and the Midland mainline.
The work will deliver improvements to local travel, with a phased introduction of new rail journeys between:
- Oxford and Milton Keynes: with trains stopping at Oxford Parkway, Bicester, Winslow and Bletchley.
- Oxford and Bedford: with trains stopping at Oxford Parkway, Bicester, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont.
- Milton Keynes and Aylesbury: with trains stopping at Bletchley, Winslow and Aylesbury Vale Parkway
The East-West Rail project is planned to be built in phases. However, once finished, it would create a work-class railway that will connect Oxford, Bicester, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.
Phase one already operates trains between Oxford and Bicester Village and was completed in December 2016.
A future phase, phase 3, would see the full reconnection from Cambridge to Oxford, and the proposal is currently in development.
What did the officials say?
Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail's North West & Central Region, said:
“Building a new railway would transform connectivity and journey times across the heart of the country. East West Rail promises to provide a greener, low carbon transport system which will bring huge benefits to passengers and businesses – driving economic growth and creating opportunities for housing and new jobs.”
Cllr Mark Shaw, chairman of the East-West Rail Consortium, an alliance of local authorities which produced the original business case for the scheme, said:
“This has to go down as one of the most exciting weeks in the history of East West Rail, with approval to begin major construction of the Western section coming just days after the preferred route between Bedford and Cambridge was announced. East West Rail will transform the way people travel within and across the region, supporting communities, boosting businesses, unlocking job opportunities, and getting people out of their cars. The Consortium and the local authorities along the line will continue to work with Network Rail and its partners to ensure the western section is now delivered as quickly and smoothly as possible.”
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Option E via Cambourne is a better option than going via Hitchin. And is lot shorter. With a new railway station to be built at Cambourne and at St. Neots. Or the other option is via Sandy with a new railway station that would be built closer to Sandy and to upgrade the current Sandy station.