East West Rail Consortium

East West Rail Consortium [cite web|url=http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk|title=Front Page|publisher=East West Rail Consortium|accessdate=2008-07-04] is a group of local authorities and businesses in England formed in 1995 to promote the re-opening of defunct railway lines and services to provide a fast outer orbital railway to the north of London linking Oxford to Cambridge and beyond, thus avoiding the metropolis itself. While that remains a long-term aspiration, progress has been made and is now sought mainly through more local and sub-regionally based projects.

The main initial protagonist was Ipswich Borough Council whose representative also chaired the Consortium until 2005. That council and its neighbours were particularly concerned about poor services within East Anglia and the links to London. Some success has been achieved east of Cambridge, at least partly through the efforts of the group, but also because of growth in the market since privatisation [cite web|url=http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/route/eastern.php|title=Eastern: Ipswich/Norwich to Cambridge|publisher=East West Rail Consortium|accessdate=2008-07-04] .

The next step in this plan is to achieve the reopening of the Bicester–Bletchley line for passengers, itself a route of strategic importance, preferably with additional connections to Milton Keynes Central and Aylesbury [cite web|url=http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/reports/documents/GRIP3FinalReport.pdf|title=Western Section|date=January 2008|publisher=East West Rail Consortium|accessdate=2008-07-04] .

The route

The plan is divided into three sections:
* the western section from Oxford to Bletchley and onwards to Bedford, with a connection from Winslow to Aylesbury over the former Great Central and a connection from Bletchley to Milton Keynes Central over the West Coast Main Line.
**there is a service between Oxford and Bicester; there is no service between Bicester and Bletchley; there is an hourly service between Bletchley and Bedford on the Marston Vale line.
* the central section, Bedford to Cambridge — the most difficult, as it includes a "missing link" in the trackbed
**there are no services on this section
* the eastern section, from Cambridge to Norwich and to Felixstowe railway station via Ipswich, which already has passenger services provided by National Express East Anglia
** there is an hourly service in both directions between Cambridge, Ipswich and Felixstowe, and an hourly direct service between Cambridge and Norwich, with additional connecting services between those two cities

tatus of the western section

Following earlier reports in April 2006 and March 2007 corresponding roughly to Network Rail's Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) stage 2 (pre-feasibility), a further report was published in January 2008; this corresponded to GRIP stage 3 (option selection) with selective aspects explored to the level normally provided by stage 4 (single option selection).

The report identifies two options defined from different perspectives, the "Regional Rail" option (the best commercial case) and the "Local Rail" option (as identified by the requirements mainly of local authorities and business interests, the "Clients"). As part of existing upgrades, a new bay platform is being provided at Milton Keynes Central, which will be able to receive the local services. The infrastructure between Oxford and Bletchley required by both options is essentially the same; the spur from Calvert to Aylesbury Vale is only included in the Local Option (a connection from Aylesbury to Aylesbury Vale is going ahead anyway in a separate project). The line from north of Wolvercote Tunnel (just north of Oxford) through Bicester to Bletchley would be enabled for 100mph double-track running. The Oxford-Wolvercote Tunnel section, and the Aylesbury-Calvert line if also provided, would be 90mph single-track working. A new high-level platform would be provided at Bletchley and new stations (under the Local option only) at Winslow and Newton Longville.

Both options would see the present hourly stopping service between Bletchley and Bedford reduced to every two hours (apparently conflicting with the stated aim of improving stopping services), but with an additional hourly semi-fast service stopping only at Woburn Sands. Both options would see two services per hour over the Oxford-Bletchley section: under the Regional Rail option both services would serve Milton Keynes via the West Coast Main Line; under the Local Rail option there would be more stops than the semi-fast Regional Rail service, and one service would continue semi-fast to Bedford instead, an additional Milton Keynes train serving Aylesbury via Bletchley.

A further possible hybrid option is identified which is basically the Regional Rail option, but with the additional hourly train serving Aylesbury working through to Bedford. There is a strong hint that this is the authors' favoured option, as a convenient inteconnection with Milton Keynes services (remaining on the high-level platform at Bletchley) could be scheduled, though it conflicts with the Clients' requirement for a direct Aylesbury-Milton Keynes service.

Funding is currently being sought for the GRIP stage 4 investigation and report, though this may be delayed until the autumn.

The current official proposals for a new eco-town at Weston Otmoor also proposes a dedicated new railway station on the east-west rail link, citing direct commuter trains to London, with the reinstated east-west rail link giving access to Milton Keynes and Oxford. The proposals are undergoing public consultation in summer 2008.

The central ("missing link") section

The original concept included the reinstatement of the Bedford-Cambridge line which had been closed in 1967. However, unlike the Bicester-Bletchley section, over which parts are still in use for freight traffic, and where significant further sections remain mothballed, much of Bedford-Cambridge line has been re-utilised for other purposes, including a moving radio telescope.

Recognising the difficulties the Consortium opted for a way forward of pursuing a link between Bedford and Sandy (on the East Coast Main Line) and using the latter line to Hitchin, then over the existing Hitchin to Cambridge line [cite web|url=http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/route/central.php|title=Central: Cambridge to Bedford|publisher=East West Rail Consortium|accessdate=2008-07-04] . Even the relatively short section between Bedford and Sandy has its difficulties, and there would be significant civil engineering works to create curves in or around Sandy and in or around Hitchin.

Supposedly a review should have been commissioned and considered by the Consortium by now on options for the route east of Bedford, but no information has apparently been made public.

ee also

* Buckinghamshire Railway
* Cherwell Valley Line
* Marston Vale Line
* Oxford to Bicester Line
* Varsity Line

References

External links

* [http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/ East West Rail Consortium home page]
* [http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/eastwestfunding/ East West Rail petition]