The East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is encouraging people from towns and villages between Oxford, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge to take part in the next phase of East West Rail public consultation.
The comments and ideas received will feed into the design, construction and operation of this once in a generation rail scheme, which could provide people from communities across the area with new connections to family, friends, jobs, education and leisure activities
Key areas of focus for the consultation, launched on 31 March 2021 include:
- How Oxford Station and its supporting infrastructure could be improved - including Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village stations
- Options for avoiding lengthy periods of delay at the London Road level crossing, Bicester
- How to ensure that communities around Bletchley and the Marston Vale Line would get the most from significant investment in their railway line
- Options for new stations at Bedford and Bedford St Johns and their supporting infrastructure
- Five route alignment options for the section of East West Rail between Bedford and Cambridge, including an emerging preference for a station at Cambourne North
- Plans for improving customer experience through better station design and more timely travel information
East West Railway Company Chief Executive, Simon Blanchflower CBE said: “This rail link is vital to the future prosperity of the region so we ask people to encourage their friends, relatives and colleagues to get involved in the consultation so they can help us to bring the right connections to all of the communities who live and work in the Oxford Cambridge Arc.
“In developing these proposals, our team has focused on how we can minimise disruption to local communities and looked for ways we can protect and enhance the local environment. Now it’s time for communities to share their valuable local knowledge and ideas with us.”
East West Railway Company will follow this launch by mailing a summary of the consultation to 270,000 addresses along the route and will be holding a series of online events for communities and stakeholders.
There will be community events, live-chat sessions with EWR Co’s team of experts and an interactive virtual consultation room, launching on 12 April.
