East - West Rail update (Oxford to Bedford) - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Campaigners fighting a £5bn rail project have said they just "want somebody to make a decision".

Bedford's Protect Poets group oppose the East-West Rail link being built between Oxford and Cambridge.

When doubt was cast on its future in July, the Department of Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) said it would be decided by the new prime minister, now known as Liz Truss.

East-West Rail said it would "work closely with the new government to make important decisions".

[Bmblbzzz]

Is E-W to be put into the Portishead permaloop?

[IndustryInsider]

Detailed update of the progress of the project:

https://sway.office.com/8LrERvg8WBAKMOrn?ref=Link&loc=play

[IndustryInsider]

A few images showing progress on East West Rail between Bicester and Launton I took today:

1)  From the new Charbridge Way footbridge in Bicester looking under the replacement Charbridge Lane road bridge and beyond towards Launton with a Class 66 waiting duties.

2 and 3)  From the new Grange Farm footbridge, Launton, looking towards Bicester.  One track laid waiting ballast, the other still to be laid.  A temporary crossover to allow engineering train access visible in the zoom shot along with the Class 66.  This bridge has replaced three former foot crossings on the route.

4)  From the same footbridge looking towards Launton.  Another Class 66 heads a construction train in the distance which is by the new Station Road bridge at Launton, which replaced a level crossing on the old line.  This long zoom shot shows how straight the alignment is, and it's a lot less bumpy than the shortened perspective suggests!

[grahame]

From New Civil Engineer

Communication of the benefits of East West Rail (EWR) will focus on the economic prospects for the region resulting from the work rather than the journey time benefits required by the Department for Transport business case documents.

UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Infrastructure Bank non-executive director Bridget Rosewell, who was a commissioner for the National Infrastructure Commission until January this year, said at an Westminster Forum event on Next steps for the Oxford to Cambridge region that EWR had learned lessons from how High Speed 2 (HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s))) handled the business case data.

Rosewell said: “HS2 did indeed lose the publicity battle – and I did warn them about this in 2005 – that if you say its about saving 20 minutes on the trip to Birmingham, you will lose. However, those are the transport criteria [needed for the Department for Transport (DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)) business case] and it is not about capacity, it is not about jobs or any of the things that you think a business case should be about.”

[grahame]

From DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)

The East West Rail (EWR) Project is set to introduce new rail services between Oxford and Cambridge in 3 distinct phases referred to as connection stages 1 to 3 (CS1 to CS3).

CS1 aims to introduce passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes between December 2024 and September 2025.

This prior information notice notifies industry that the government intends to negotiate an amendment to the current Chiltern national rail contract (NRC) for the introduction of CS1 services under that contract.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Route update including the chosen route for Bedford–Cambridge (new station at Tempsford, then via Cambourne North, approaching Cambridge from the south):

https://eastwestrail.co.uk/routeupdate

[ray951]

I 'liked' this from the same page on the EWR website 'Under powering our trains':

"We’re focused on delivering a net zero carbon railway. We’re continuing to evaluate a range of technological solutions for powering our trains and we’ll share more information at the statutory consultation."

Anybody want to save EWR (and therefore the country) a few pounds by telling them the answer to this statement without needing to do an evaluation or consultation and a clue the answer isn't hybrid or diesel trains?

[grahame]

Route update including the chosen route for Bedford–Cambridge (new station at Tempsford, then via Cambourne North, approaching Cambridge from the south):

I read that as "Cambridge North" not "Cambourne North" - I wonder if people will get confused.   Are there main line platforms too at Tempsford?  Without them I would imagine the local reception of the new station might be mixed. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

It's easy to tell the difference between the two. Cambridge North has a week-round service, whereas Cambourne...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_axHV2wx8RA

[paul7575]

Route update including the chosen route for Bedford–Cambridge (new station at Tempsford, then via Cambourne North, approaching Cambridge from the south):

I read that as "Cambridge North" not "Cambourne North" - I wonder if people will get confused.   Are there main line platforms too at Tempsford?  Without them I would imagine the local reception of the new station might be mixed. 

The detailed report does refer to a “new ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line) station” at Tempsford.

[eightonedee]

To be fair, the background is that the original "preferred" route involved an alignment along the approximate line of the A428, before diverging south around the Eltisley Turn to run along the south-west boundary of the built-up (or planned) current extent of Cambourne, with a station on the south side (between Cambourne and Caxton). This has a lot of sense - there's a valley running along this alignment that makes an obvious route for running south-east to pick up the old alignment of the former Cambridge-Bedford line.

The change means that it looks likely to use the land left between the old A428 and the alignment of the new dual-carriageway constructed in phases between 1998 and the present day, so the station moves from the south to the north of the new town. I imagine that the earthworks and associated engineering works involved in then getting the line down to the old Cambridge-Bedford formation to approach Cambridge from the south (about 50-60m of elevation) will be more costly.

[GBM]

It's easy to tell the difference between the two. Cambridge North has a week-round service, whereas Cambourne...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_axHV2wx8RA

The Cornish Camborne doesn't contain a U 

[bradshaw]

And trains will stop there on Wednesdays

[TonyK]

I 'liked' this from the same page on the EWR website 'Under powering our trains':

"We’re focused on delivering a net zero carbon railway. We’re continuing to evaluate a range of technological solutions for powering our trains and we’ll share more information at the statutory consultation."

Anybody want to save EWR (and therefore the country) a few pounds by telling them the answer to this statement without needing to do an evaluation or consultation and a clue the answer isn't hybrid or diesel trains?

That would only be net zero if they sign up to a 100% green energy tariff, the one with a picture of a flower and a wind turbine on the bill.