East West Rail to deliver 'billions in growth' for region's economy, says transport secretary
Passengers services will run between Oxford and Bletchley for the first time in nearly 50 years, as ITV News Anglia's Matthew Hudson reports
A new railway connecting Oxford and Cambridge will deliver "£6.7bn in growth" for the region's economy, the transport secretary has said.
Louise Haigh was speaking ahead of the opening of a consultation into a new stretch of track connecting Bedford and Cambridge as part of the East West Rail project.
The route of the railway has already been agreed, but over the next 10 weeks people living near the line will be able to have their say on details including stations, level crossings and timetables.
When the whole East West Rail project is complete sometime in the 2030s, it will connect the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge.
The first section - from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes - is nearly finished and will see passenger services start next year.
The transport secretary visited the newly redeveloped Bletchley station on Thursday and said the project would "vastly improve the picture for investors".
Ms Haigh added: "We're expecting to see massive investment from life sciences, but also new housing along the route, new job opportunities and independent estimates suggests this could deliver £6.7bn in growth potential by 2050."
The Oxford to Bletchley section cost around £270m to complete and project leaders say it has come in ahead of time and under budget.
Test trains are already operating on the route and passengers should be using it within the next twelve months.
Christian Irwin from Network Rail said: "We've got a good few months checking our signalling system and getting all our drivers and signallers trained, but we're really looking forward at some point in 2025 to see passenger services commence for the first time in the best part of 50 years."
Not everyone is happy with the next section of the route from Bedford to Cambridge with some homes facing compulsory purchase and demolition.
In Cambridgeshire villages along the route, like Haslingfield, many local people feel the link is financially unviable, bad for environment and of no benefit to them.
Local farmer Sarah Tebbit believes the scheme has been badly planned and fears for the future of her business.
"We stand to lose over half of our land which will render our business unviable," she said. "In our case it's a fourth generation farm. My husband is passionate about agriculture and has farmed it to the best of his ability for many years."
Tim Scott is a trustee for the Countryside Regeneration Trust and said the charity had bought a farm in 2000 which was now a habitat for endangered species.
He said: "Rather unfortunately the proposed railway line will be going right through the middle of the land and so 24 years of nature recovery will be totally and utterly destroyed by the railway line."
David Hughes, chief executive of East West Rail, said: “The government set out its support for delivering East West Rail in full in the Autumn Budget, so it’s great to have the transport secretary officially launch our latest public consultation on this key infrastructure project.
“East West Rail will support the government’s economic growth by providing faster, easier and more reliable journeys, which will improve access to jobs, education and days out.
“I encourage people and businesses to get involved in our consultation by attending one of our events and reading our updated proposals, which include electrification to reflect our commitment to running a net zero carbon railway.”
To have your say on the East West Rail project visit the website here.
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