Please sign our petition to complete the line from Oxford to Cambridge - click on the button below. Subsequently, on 31 March , the EWR Company launched a wide-ranging second non-statutory consultation. Full details can be viewed at www. Would it be descoped, deferred, or even cancelled, despite contractors on-site for the reopening of the 'Western Section' between Bicester and Bletchley?
Funding was first announced by the government in , and Network Rail had obtained its Transport and Works Order in January , so all work could go ahead. Moreover, the start of services has been pushed back by a year to Apparently so, as the Treasury has only just signed it off, although work to reinstate the Western Section is well in hand, especially the flyover next at Bletchley station, so some funding had to be provided regardless.
However, slipping the target date and phasing allows the government to spend money more slowly, and the line will not be electrified, although this may happen eventually. In fact, because of the pandemic the Treasury is only providing money one year at a time, rather than for multiple years.
Meanwhile, the EWR Consortium of local authorities "will continue to press the Government for an early decision on the investment that will allow the Bletchley - Bedford and Milton Keynes - Aylesbury sections to be delivered as soon as possible. East West Railway's "Preferred Route" report published in January explained that one of the reasons the route via a route south of St Neots and close to Cambourne - see image below was chosen is the potential for alignment with the new A road for both environmental and cost reasons.
That advantage was emphasised by people and organisations who responded to the consultation. The design of the new A from Cambourne to Roxton near St Neots currently has no allowance for the future railway.
