Reopenings special: Progress from west to east in three stages

The first section of the long-awaited East West Rail is due to open this year, when services will run from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes. Ultimately, the line will continue to Cambridge. Peter Plisner has been looking at the latest progress.

In this article:

• East West Rail (EWR) aims to reconnect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford, and Cambridge, boosting economic growth and infrastructure.
• The project faces controversy over route choices, station closures, and the use of discontinuous electrification instead of full electrification.
• Passenger services on the first section are expected by mid to late 2025, with ongoing discussions on train operations and staffing.

Many would view East West Rail as a no-brainer. A new railway line that, in the words of the EWR company’s own website, connects communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge, supporting sustainable economic growth in the area.

It’s a new east-west link that many have said is badly needed. And it is planned to be delivered in three (what the company describes as) ‘Connection Stages’.

Stage One runs from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes. Stage Two will go from Oxford to Bedford. Finally, Stage Three will see trains running all the way from Oxford to Cambridge.

It’s being delivered by the East West Rail Alliance, which includes consultant Atkins, civil engineering contractors Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail, and Network Rail.

Collectively, they will deliver approximately 48km (30 miles) of new rail line.

Like many new pieces of infrastructure, the project hasn’t been without controversy. Some parts of the route have attracted fierce opposition, particularly around the Cambridge area.

Although it doesn’t follow exactly the same route, the line is a carbon copy of the old Varsity Line, which ran from Oxford to Cambridge until the 1960s, when it was earmarked for closure by Dr Beeching.

Some stretches of the old line have been reused - including the Marston Vale Line (which remains part of the London Northwestern Railway network from Bletchley to Bedford) and a formally disused section of the line from Bletchley to Oxford.

Part of that section between Oxford and Bicester had already reopened, becoming part of the Chiltern Main Line in 2015, when Chiltern Railways started running trains from Marylebone to Oxford via a new station at Bicester Village.

However, EWR has chosen not to reuse the old section of the railway from Cambridge to Bedford, despite much of the original trackbed being intact.

Although the new line does provide a missing east-west link, additional capacity for more freight traffic, and a useful diversionary route for passenger trains, the biggest wins for the project are around economic growth in the areas served.

David Hughes, chief executive of the East West Rail Company, says: “The Treasury is backing this because of the impact that it thinks it will have on economic growth in the region, and the economic clusters around Cambridge and Oxford in particular.

“These areas of the economy are where the UK has a global competitive advantage and where there’s the greatest potential for inward investment. But future inward investment is constrained by a lack of housing and insufficient labour markets.”

Not surprising, then, that the project received a big thumbs-up from new Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year’s Autumn Statement.

Hughes adds: “HM Treasury is not normally a fan of big rail projects, but it is a massive fan of this one because in the end it’s all about economic growth. This project, more than any other, is actually driven by the economic growth agenda, by what it does for housing, and what it does for the regional economy.”

Despite using existing or disused railway infrastructure for at least two-thirds of the route, building the new line hasn’t been as easy as you might think.

While the Victorians built things to last, they couldn’t have predicted the way that rail technology and safety standards would change. And as a result, East West Rail, in addition to laying new track, has had to rebuild bridges.

One of the biggest projects was reconstruction of the Bletchley flyover, which (although not built in the Victorian age, but in 1959) carries trains over the West Coast Main Line just south of Milton Keynes station.

The EWR Alliance demolished and then rebuilt the structure during the summer of 2021, using some innovative construction methods which helped to limit the need for continued blockades of the West Coast route.

“By working smarter, we’ve been able to speed up the project by around six months,” says East West Rail Alliance Project Director Mark Cuzner.

“At the start of the project, we built a protective wall next to the West Coast Main Line, so we could safely build the box structure during the day when the railway is open, instead of working piecemeal at night-time when the railway is closed.

“Most of the components for both the box structure and the flyover arrived pre-built and were simply assembled on site, like a model kit or set of Duplo bricks.

“The simplicity of construction meant we could safely reduce the workforce onsite by 60%, cut the previously-forecast cost by £70 million, and get the job done six months quicker than planned.”

The scheme has also involved building two new high-level platforms at Bletchley, linked to the existing station by a new footbridge.

The work to upgrade the station has been ongoing since 2022, and has been constructed away from the operational railway to ensure minimal disruption to passengers.

A new station has also been added at Winslow. The original station closed in the 1960s. The new station includes two platforms, a link bridge, and a modern ticket hall.

There are some major projects along the line, but nothing bigger than the final section of the route from Bedford to Cambridge, which will be built from scratch taking in the new and growing town of Cambourne.

The decision to route the new line south of Cambridge, rather than to the north or on the original disused line, has been highly controversial.

Hughes explains: “It was a balance. Coming in from the north into Cambridge, we had to consider what that offered in terms of connectivity and future flexibility around the network, and the environmental impact.

“The benefits of coming in from the south were the way that it opened up access to the Biomedical Campus on the south side of Cambridge. That was viewed as a big prize.

“Then there was the ability to connect that into Camborne and Tempsford, where the expectation is that we’re going to see very significant levels of housing development brought forward in those locations.

“That’s the heart of the decision to go for the southern option - it’s opening up those labour pools for further growth around the Biomedical Campus.”

The latest consultation has made some changes to the route, which appear to be designed to placate those who still have concerns about the southern approach.

Another controversial proposal in the latest consultation includes the possible closure of some stations on the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford.

EWR is consulting on two alternative options. The first is to retain all the existing stations and serve them with an hourly stopping service. In addition, two faster EWR trains an hour between Oxford and Cambridge would call at four of the stations - Woburn Sands, Ridgmont, Lidlington and Stewartby - before continuing to Bedford St Johns and onwards to Cambridge.

A second option would see the nine current intermediate stations consolidated into four relocated stations within the areas of Woburn Sands, Ridgemont, Lidlington and Stewartby. Three EWR trains would service these four stations every hour.

“Consolidation of nine down to four is an option, and we deliberately included it in the consultation exercise,” says Hughes.

“We’ve presented a neutral position - there isn’t a preferred option in there. We’ve, kind of, tried to set out the pros and cons. The cons are fairly obvious, because station closure is always difficult and controversial.”

The area is sparsely populated. Some of the stations are very lightly used, and some are quite a distance from the villages they serve.

Hughes adds: “You have nine stations in 16 miles, so the argument behind the consolidation is about investment in more modern facilities. You could have better service patterns, faster journey times, more connectivity. But we wanted to put both options on the table and get feedback from local communities as to how they see it.”

EWR is also proposing works to level crossings along the route. There are several options - including retention, upgrade, closure with diversion, closure and replacement with a bridge, or closure without an alternative provision. There are more than 30 such crossings on the route.

The consultation is also proposing new passing loops, primarily for freight, on several sections of the line.

While the consultation has answered many of the questions that those watching the progress of the EWR project have been concerned about, one thing that has so far not been announced is the company that will run the trains on the new line and the rolling stock that is to be used.

Late last year, the first test train ran on the line - a Class 165 diesel multiple unit provided by Chiltern Railways. It provided yet another clear indication to what seems to be one of the worst-kept secrets on the railways - that Chiltern will be the operator of EWR services.

As far as the trains are concerned, another worst-kept secret suggests that six two-car Class 196 trains are to be sub-leased from West Midlands Trains for the new service, initially from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes.

More recently, there has been talk of having discontinuous electrification on the line, clearing the way for a dedicated fleet of bi-mode trains to be procured.

Says Hughes: “Our emerging preference is for discontinuous electrification. There will be a set of requirements for the rolling stock that will evolve and will need to align to the decisions that have been taken around the specification of the infrastructure, including signalling and traction, so I think at this point it’s probably a bit early.

“We’re around ten years away from our target date for introduction of the final services in the mid-2030s, so we’re some way off from firming up on what the plan is for procurement of the rolling stock. Ultimately, that will be a decision for the Department for Transport.”

And the reason for discontinuous, rather than full, electrification?

“We think it will be cheaper and less disruptive, in terms of construction impacts, on certain sections of the route than full electrification.

“And, of course, up until the launch of our latest consultation, the default assumption around traction had been that it would be diesel. It’s always felt very unsatisfactory to be building a new railway on the basis of diesel traction in the 2030s.”

And according to Hughes, HM Treasury is still sceptical about rail electrification.

“It’s not because they don’t see electrification as a good thing, but I think when you look at it from the UK-wide perspective, if you have £x billion to spend on decarbonisation, you don’t necessarily start with rail. Rail’s not where you get the biggest bang for the buck in terms of decarbonisation.”

Speaking about EWR at a recent Transport Select Committee hearing, Rail Minister Lord Hendy said discontinuous electrification on the line was a “brilliant solution” adding: “Having lived through the saga of the Great Western Main Line (electrification), which was extraordinarily expensive and probably over-specified, I think looking at electrification on a simpler and more practical way to produce decarbonisation benefits without massive capital expenditure in altering bridges and tunnels is absolutely fabulous.”

In the short term, diesel-powered trains will run between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes when this section of the railway starts running.

The East West Rail Company is working on plans to accelerate the introduction of services to Bedford before the railway to Cambridge is operational, which means diesel-powered trains may run on this section until all construction through to Cambridge is finished.

There are still some issues to be solved at Oxford station, when the whole line is open.

EWR is concerned that there won’t be sufficient platform capacity for its terminating trains. It’s now looking at a number of solutions - including building a new platform at the station or extending rail services further to places such as Cowley to provide a rail link to the Oxford Business and Science Parks or Didcot.

Hughes says: “There are capacity constraints at both Oxford and Cambridge. You have dwell time issues, and solutions are potentially quite expensive, but the obvious question is: why don’t you extend the services? Could you run East West Rail down to Didcot. Might you extend Chiltern services to Cowley, freeing up more space at Oxford station?

“It’s also difficult and expensive to create sufficient capacity at Cambridge, but we could run services out to Newmarket. And if you’re doing that, how about putting a station in and call it Cambridge East and align with some of the development that’s planned there? They are all options that are being considered at the moment.”

But before any of that can happen, there’s the small matter of the opening to passengers of the first section of EWR between Oxford, Bletchley and Milton Keynes.

After last year’s first trains ran on the line, questions are now being asked about when a proper passenger service will begin. Some have already questioned why it’s taking so long to begin services.

At the time of writing, discussions were still ongoing between the DfT and Chiltern Railways about the operation of the initial service.

There’s also the question of Driver Only Operation (DOO) on the line. The Class 196s do have DOO capability, but unions are still concerned about the concept.

In a statement, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Driver-only operation on the East West Rail line would undermine rail safety.

“Guards play a vital role in emergencies, assisting passengers, including those with disabilities, and provide a reassuring presence. Removing this role risks lowering safety standards below the level the public expects.

“Properly staffed trains and stations are proven to be the safest model across the network and we will oppose any attempt to introduce DOO on the East West Rail line.”

The EWR Company says only that it’s likely to be mid to late 2025 when the first passengers are carried on the line. The latest consultation exercise closed on January 25.

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