• Preference for discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains  

• Revised design plans for Bedford and Bedford St Johns stations - improving access to Bedford Hospital  

• Two options for station options/service patterns for the Marston Vale Line to provide a three-fold increase in services and reduce journey times  

• People encouraged to share views on latest designs during 10-week consultation   

East West Railway Company (EWR Co) has today launched a public consultation on its updated plans for its rail project connecting Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.  

Passenger services are due to start along the first stage of East West Rail (EWR) between Oxford and Bletchley in 2025, with track all laid and line testing underway on this section.  

The updated proposals, which can be viewed during the third non-statutory public consultation on EWR, contain revised infrastructure and design plans for a new stretch of railway between Bedford and Cambridge, plus essential railway improvement works to upgrade the existing railway between Oxford and Bedford.   

The plans have been updated following feedback at our previous non-statutory consultation and further technical design work. The consultation comes after the Government committed to delivering EWR in full in last month’s Budget.  

East West Rail will unlock access to jobs and space for businesses to grow, regenerate town centres, improve connectivity across the region and the rest of the UK, and support new affordable housing.  

The updated proposals include:   

• Our preference for green traction power in the form of discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains – as well as the environmental benefits such as reducing carbon emissions, discontinuous electrification would mean overhead lines would only need to be installed along some sections of the route, which would reduce disruption during construction and potentially decrease visual impacts in more sensitive locations along the new railway. This option would also cost less than full electrification, reducing the need to alter current structures.  
• Revamping Bedford station and relocating Bedford St Johns station – we plan to improve Bedford station by rebuilding the station building, including a new station plaza, two extra platforms (reduced from three), footbridges and providing replacement parking, all to give passengers the best possible experience. We also plan to relocate Bedford St Johns station to the west and provide new parking to give patients, staff and visitors better access to Bedford Hospital  
• Extending one train per hour between Bedford and Cambridge further west to Stewartby – this would better serve Bedford Hospital by providing four trains per hour between Stewartby and Bedford as well as improve our proposals for Bedford station.   
• Two options for station options/service patterns for retaining/consolidating stations on the Marston Vale Line – to provide a three-fold increase in services and reduce journey times, options include retaining existing stations in their current locations or consolidating and delivering new stations   
• Tempsford – we have designed two alignment options which connect to a new station at Tempsford    
• Train service hours of operation - we anticipate that passenger services would run between 6am and midnight from Monday to Thursday, between 6am to 1am on Friday and Saturday, and between 7am to 11pm on Sunday  
• Support for affected landowners – in addition to establishing our Need to Sell Property Scheme for those unable to sell their property because of our proposals, homeowners will also be eligible for the statutory blight provisions that come into effect alongside this consultation.  

David Hughes, CEO, EWR Co, said: “East West Rail will help revitalise Bedford town centre by acting as a magnet for investment, creating more job opportunities and making it a more attractive place for businesses, shoppers and visitors.  

“By proving access to faster and more reliable east-west public transport, East West Rail will enable easier and quicker ways to get to work and enjoy days out, and more affordable places to live, while crucially boosting economic growth in Bedford and across the entire country.  

“This is why I’m excited to present our updated proposals, which include electrification to reflect our commitment to running a net zero carbon railway, more detailed plans on two new stations for Bedford and the latest station options/service pattern options to treble the frequency of services along the Marston Vale Line.  

“Local authorities and businesses have been calling for this railway for three decades. Our revised plans aim to maximise the benefits of the project and have been influenced by the huge number of conversations we’ve had with local people and businesses, and thousands of responses we have had to our last public consultation.  

“I encourage people to read our updated proposals in this consultation, attend one of the public events across the route and share your views to help us refine our designs further so East West Rail can best serve its local communities.”  

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “East West Rail will boost access to education and business opportunities while unlocking economic growth and productivity right across the region, including Cambridge’s world-leading life science cluster.  

“With these proposals, passengers can get ready for more frequent, faster and greener journeys through an electrified line, demonstrating our drive to deliver infrastructure that is truly fit for the future. 

“This consultation marks a significant moment for the project, offering the public an exciting opportunity to shape the development of this transformational line. I encourage local residents and businesses to get involved and have their say.” 

Cllr Liz Leffman, Chair of England’s Economic Heartland, the sub-national transport body for the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge region, said: “East West Rail will transform the way people can sustainably access jobs, skills, leisure and housing across the region. Our world class universities, science parks and knowledge-intensive businesses will finally be linked together: fuelling innovation, attracting inward investment, creating prosperity and boosting economic growth.   

“The launch of this consultation represents a significant milestone for a project the region has campaigned for over several decades. It is crucial that people now respond to the proposals. We must ensure the scheme to be delivered is planned, built and operated in a way which leaves the best possible legacy for our communities, businesses, environment and wider transport system.”  

The main consultation document can be viewed on our consultation page (from 00.01, Nov 14). This page contains the Consultation Feedback Form, which we encourage people to complete to share their views on the project, alongside other supporting documents - these include a Technical Report, which provides further information about how we have developed our designs; an Environmental Update Report and a Transport Update Report, which contain preliminary information about the likely effects of our proposals, and maps, plans and visualisations, which show the proposed route alignment and features, the land that would be required for the project, and illustrations of what some of the main features of the railway could look like.    

The non-statutory consultation aims to obtain feedback on the early designs, including areas where we are still considering options. Feedback from the consultation will be taken into account as the designs are further developed and preferred options chosen.  

The consultation will run for 10 weeks from 14 November 2024 to 24 January 2025. A series of public drop-in and online events are being held across the route to provide opportunities to meet the EWR Co team and find out more about the updated proposals.*   

For more information about the consultation and how to get involved, please visit our consultation page or contact our helpdesk at contact@eastwestrail.co.uk  

For information and feedback from our previous consultation in 2021.