My idea for East West Rail

[CMS1]

Now that EWR to Cambridge is a completly new route, should this route be considered? Involves new lines from Hitchin to Luton and Luton to Leighton Buzzard (mostly using the old alignment).


There seems to be a number of advantages over the current route:
It requires 22 miles of new line compared to 31, or 46 if you include the Bletchely to Bedford section.
It provides a link to Luton Airport which has poor rail connections north of London (plus poor road connections from the east)
It serves circa double the population between Bletchley and Cambridge
There are already good East-West road corridors near the current route (A14 and A421/8) but between there and London there is an absence of east-west connections (e.g a lot of traffic goes down to the M25, across and up again).
The Stevenage to Luton new-build part could be a joint road/rail corridor

Disadvantages are that the short Dunstable busway will be replaced with rail, it's 3 miles longer overall and it uses more existing lines... plus no doubt some others which will be added shortly!

 

[Sun Chariot]

Perhaps worth incorporating this into the EWR speculative thread linked here?

East West Rail (EWR) mentioned in Budget 2024: what should happen next?

My newsletter feed from 'England's Economic Heartland' has flagged further commitment in the Budget 2024 - presumably in the 'small print'. https://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/news/eeh-chair-reacts-to-chancellors-budget/ At today's Budget, the Chancellor committed to the delivery of...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[The exile]

Now that EWR to Cambridge is a completly new route, should this route be considered? Involves new lines from Hitchin to Luton and Luton to Leighton Buzzard (mostly using the old alignment).
View attachment 183869

There seems to be a number of advantages over the current route:
It requires 22 miles of new line compared to 31, or 46 if you include the Bletchely to Bedford section.
It provides a link to Luton Airport which has poor rail connections north of London (plus poor road connections from the east)
It serves circa double the population between Bletchley and Cambridge
There are already good East-West road corridors near the current route (A14 and A421/8) but between there and London there is an absence of east-west connections (e.g a lot of traffic goes down to the M25, across and up again).
The Stevenage to Luton new-build part could be a joint road/rail corridor

Disadvantages are that the short Dunstable busway will be replaced with rail, it's 3 miles longer overall and it uses more existing lines... plus no doubt some others which will be added shortly!

Assuming black = use of existing infrastructure then you’re trying to squeeze yet more traffic onto two congested main lines (even if for not very far).

 

[465fan]

Now that EWR to Cambridge is a completly new route, should this route be considered? Involves new lines from Hitchin to Luton and Luton to Leighton Buzzard (mostly using the old alignment).
View attachment 183869

There seems to be a number of advantages over the current route:
It requires 22 miles of new line compared to 31, or 46 if you include the Bletchely to Bedford section.
It provides a link to Luton Airport which has poor rail connections north of London (plus poor road connections from the east)
It serves circa double the population between Bletchley and Cambridge
There are already good East-West road corridors near the current route (A14 and A421/8) but between there and London there is an absence of east-west connections (e.g a lot of traffic goes down to the M25, across and up again).
The Stevenage to Luton new-build part could be a joint road/rail corridor

Disadvantages are that the short Dunstable busway will be replaced with rail, it's 3 miles longer overall and it uses more existing lines... plus no doubt some others which will be added shortly!

As we know now, the reason for going towards Bedford is multi-faceted, and the theme park will be a key part of that choice. Likewise, Leighton Buzzard to Luton is relatively easy via buses, given the busway from Dunstable. Luton to Stevenage I could try to sympathise with, but realistically that feels like buses to me being best again.

For me, it seems a shame that the EWR plans east of Bedford involve going to 'St Neots South', rather than into the town (but it is clear why). The entire EWR programme is a clear case of "Do what we can for the cheapest available cost", so we should I suppose also be grateful they didn't try the idea of sending stuff down to Arlesey, then onto a "Hitchin avoider" to get onto the line via Letchworth. A new alignment with sensible speeds is the best thing, same as not diverting trains off at St Johns where then Bedford (main) station get's left behind.

 

[Magdalia]

Now that EWR to Cambridge is a completly new route, should this route be considered?

No.

The main reason is time. The current proposal is due a statutory consultation then a development control order before construction can start. Your proposal means going back to the start of the consultation process, delaying delivery by 5-10 years if you are lucky.

But your proposal has other flaws too. There is no capacity for more trains between Shepreth Branch Junction and Hitchin, or through Hitchin itself. The line between Hitchin and Luton would need to be mostly in tunnels, probably including going under the airport. And it fails to serve Cambourne and Tempsford, two places that don't have big populations now but will have once the new line is running, and carrying lots of commuters living in Cambourne and Tempsford to and from Cambridge.

And I expect that Universal Studios would not be pleased to hear that East West Rail wouldn't be coming through Stewartby.

 

[mike57]

Could Letchworth - Cambridge handle more services? If so then reverse in Bedford and head for Letchworth with a station at Shefford, there appears to be an old route which may be partly useable, dont touch the ECML, flyover it just north of the existing flying junction with next stop Letchworth. That would be less than 20 miles of new route rather than the nearly 30 that a direct route to Cambridge would use, and would not impact any existing main lines. However the downside would be a 40+ mile journey to Cambridge rather than ~30 miles, and capacity of the existing Letchworh Cambridge route.

Anything which puts extra stain on an already overloaded ECML or MML is a non starter to me, and in an ideal world I would go for the direct Bedford Cambridge route.

Thinking ahead if the Huntingdon - Paterborough 4 tracking ever gets done then I would ensure that at the ECML cross over point trains COULD head north to Peterborough. An interchange at Peterborough would offer useful connection opportunities to places on EWR, with maybe 1 tph. But how far off into the future is any 'boots on the ground' for EWR beyond Bedford

 

[465fan]

Could Letchworth - Cambridge handle more services? If so then reverse in Bedford and head for Letchworth with a station at Shefford, there appears to be an old route which may be partly useable, dont touch the ECML, flyover it just north of the existing flying junction with next stop Letchworth. That would be less than 20 miles of new route rather than the nearly 30 that a direct route to Cambridge would use, and would not impact any existing main lines. However the downside would be a 40+ mile journey to Cambridge rather than ~30 miles, and capacity of the existing Letchworh Cambridge route.

Anything which puts extra stain on an already overloaded ECML or MML is a non starter to me, and in an ideal world I would go for the direct Bedford Cambridge route.

Thinking ahead if the Huntingdon - Paterborough 4 tracking ever gets done then I would ensure that at the ECML cross over point trains COULD head north to Peterborough. An interchange at Peterborough would offer useful connection opportunities to places on EWR, with maybe 1 tph. But how far off into the future is any 'boots on the ground' for EWR beyond Bedford

Hitchin to Cambridge is very heavily-used. I doubt there is much space for anything more, unless significant investment is made in something like a terminating platform at Royston (possibly on the loop) for stopping trains from London. You would probably also need something like a freight loop each way, to allow stuff to continue to run to/from Whitemoor direct or to the likes of Foxton / Barrington.

 

[mike57]

Hitchin to Cambridge is very heavily-used.

To be honest this was my thought, but I am not familiar with the route, only the ECML which as we know is at capacity.

 

[Magdalia]

Could Letchworth - Cambridge handle more services?

Hitchin to Cambridge is very heavily-used.

The main difficulty with Hitchin-Shepreth Branch Junction is the mix of fast Cambridge trains and 7 intermediate stations on a 2 track railway. A stopper following a fast train from one end is only just in front of the next fast train by the time it gets to the other end. It is similar to the issues with Marston Vale, but much more difficult to consolidate the stations.

reverse in Bedford and head for Letchworth with a station at Shefford, there appears to be an old route which may be partly useable

I don't know about Bedford, but the line has been built on in Shefford and Henlow. There is also the Old Warden tunnel to consider.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Jul 2025 ==

if the Huntingdon - Paterborough 4 tracking ever gets done

Reinstating the up slow between Conington and Huntingdon is feasible, but there won't be 4 tracks at Holme Fen.

 

[mike57]

but there won't be 4 tracks at Holme Fen.

Is that because of ground conditions?

 

[Magdalia]

Is that because of ground conditions?

Yes, it is shrinking, and below sea level. The lowest point of England is quite close to the line.