East West Plan Accelerated
Rail Express|February 2018

Government funding should see trains between Oxford and Bletchley in 2024, with an extension through to Cambridge by 2026.

East West Plan Accelerated


TRAINS will be running between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford by 2024 as a result of a £1 billion funding grant, which was announced in the November budget.

The grant will also accelerate the completion of the through route to Cambridge. This will mostly use the previous formation between Bedford and Sandy, but there will be a divergence to reach Cambridge as the former approach route has been lost to development since the line closed in 1967.

Network Rail considers that the best option is likely to involve a new section of line joining the Hitchin to Cambridge line south of Shepreth Branch Junction. The target date for opening the complete route is now 2026.

This story is from the February 2018 edition of Rail Express.

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This story is from the February 2018 edition of Rail Express.

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