East-West Rail (EWR) Cambridge - Bletchley - Oxford speculative thread

[zwk500]

It makes more sense for some Cambridge trains to go to Milton Keynes Central - possibly extending them to Birmingham New Street via Northampton. The remaining trains could then go through Bletchley and Oxford.

It makes zero sense to extend Cambridge-MK trains as far as Birmingham New Street.

 

[Magdalia]

It makes more sense for some Cambridge trains to go to Milton Keynes Central - possibly extending them to Birmingham New Street via Northampton. The remaining trains could then go through Bletchley and Oxford.

It makes zero sense to extend Cambridge-MK trains as far as Birmingham New Street.

I have checked the 467 pages of the 2024 technical report. Birmingham gets zero mentions.

Trains Cambridge-Bletchley will open up Bletchley as the preferred route Cambridge-Birmingham. It won't be through trains, but it will be quicker than via Leicester and 2tph.

 

[Farigiraf]

Trains Cambridge-Bletchley will open up Bletchley as the preferred route Cambridge-Birmingham. It won't be through trains, but it will be quicker than via Leicester and 2tph.

Assuming an optimistic 10 minute connection at Bletchley, Cambridge to Birmingham via EWR and LNR will take just under 3 hours (1h + 10m + 1h 40).
Adding an additional change at MKC can bring that down to around 2h 20, which is slightly faster than via Leicester but involves two changes so won't be the preferred route. If you've just missed the hourly CrossCountry (or GBR XC by then) service then it'll be a useful backup route, but it won't be much more than that based on the current scope.

It's unlikely that Avanti will start adding Bletchley calls to any of its intercity services (ditto EMR at Bedford) so extra connectivity post-EWR will be much below full potential.

An east-to-north curve at Bletchley would cut Cambridge-Birmingham down to 1h50-2h, a significant improvement, but unfortunately this won't be built anytime soon.

 

[Magdalia]

It is quite bizarre that there are comments to split Peterborough to Horsham trains because it involves the only service for local stations (Arlesey to Huntingdon) being at the whim of distant disruption, yet people would ve happy to see the only service at local stations between Cambridge and Stowmarket at the whim of distant disruption beyond Cambridge.

Absolutely, we don't want East West Rail screwed up if the wires fall down at Stowmarket.

There's a very big difference between the mostly self-contained EWR and Thameslink & the Brighton Main Line.

And East West Rail needs to be kept self contained. At least Thameslink has some decent long distance flows that are worth preserving, long distance flows on East West Rail beyond Cambridge are all pain and negligible gain. What Norwich and Ipswich want is connectivity with Cambridge not places beyond.

What are those ways?

A bit of overhead line from Coldham Lane to Cambridge East and through trains to/from Liverpool Street. I would be surprised if there is no intention to wire to the turnback siding anyway, especially given that EWR's proposals include replacing the Coldhams Common and Tins footbridges. Then build lots of houses between Fulbourn and Six Mile Bottom and use that to fund extending the OHL to Newmarket.

Ely is seemingly in the too-hard pile - I do think that redeveloping that station (addl platform, and some bays for more local service) might scratch some of the itch. And killing off Norwich-Peterborough - (Liverpool) / bypassing Ely - that service eats a lot of paths.

Ely seems to be a classic case of something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do this.

It has been happening again today see here:

'Historic underinvestment' holding back East of England - report

A new report presents a snapshot of the region's economy and the challenges still facing it.

www.bbc.co.uk

The East of England's economic potential is still being held back by historic underinvestment, poor infrastructure and communications, according to a major new report.

The report by local MPs, council leaders and chambers of commerce, warns that unless long-standing problems are urgently addressed, there is the risk of delays to projects like East West Rail, Sizewell C and the building of thousands of homes.

Like many reports before it, "historic underinvestment" in transport and communications is blamed for holding back the region's growth.

It criticises the decision not to fund the improvement of Ely and Haughley rail junctions,

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the original report.

The Ely scheme was designed a long time ago now and was mainly about freight to/from Felixstowe, not passengers to/from Cambridge.

And killing off Norwich-Peterborough - (Liverpool) / bypassing Ely - that service eats a lot of paths.

I do agree that a standard 2tph Cambridge-Ipswich would be preferable than convoluted EWR patterns.

The particularly bonkers thing about Norwich-Liverpool is all that capacity being used for 2 car trains.

The short term solution for passengers to/from Cambridge is longer trains not more trains.

The platform is too short for a splitter either.

And the biggest problem for longer trains is Stansted!

Doesn't seem pointless to me, rather it's just your average village station which happens to have lots of potential due to it being near to a rapidly growing city. Agreed that £19mil is far too high but now it's here, it should be used to its full potential.

Soham is here, we can't wish it away, but Soham shouldn't get priority over other more important flows, just because it was built recently.

 

[Pete_uk]

What about the service from Bristol to Oxford extending to Cambridge?

 

[CMS1]

A bit of overhead line from Coldham Lane to Cambridge East and through trains to/from Liverpool Street. I would be surprised if there is no intention to wire to the turnback siding anyway, especially given that EWR's proposals include replacing the Coldhams Common and Tins footbridges. Then build lots of houses between Fulbourn and Six Mile Bottom and use that to fund extending the OHL to Newmarket.

London to Newmarket is another good option, and doesn't have to wait for OHLE these days!

What Norwich and Ipswich want is connectivity with Cambridge not places beyond.

I'm not sure where you got that from. What Norfolk & Suffolk want is connectivity to the wider UK to overcome the geographical isolation of East Anglia. Whilst London links are good, there's only 1 other link in/out which is the slow trip to Peterborough, offering good links northward but not to Central England or the West Midlands.

Soham is here, we can't wish it away, but Soham shouldn't get priority over other more important flows, just because it was built recently.

Quite, nor should the eye-watering cost cause that, or we fall for the concorde fallacy

 

[dk1]

London to Newmarket is another good option, and doesn't have to wait for OHLE these days!


I'm not sure where you got that from. What Suffolk & Norfolk want is connectivity to the wider UK to overcome the geographical isolation of East Anglia. Whilst London links are good, there's only 1 other link in/out which is the slow trip to Peterborough, offering good links Northward but not to Central England or the West Midlands.

Quite, nor should the eye-watering cost cause

Unfortunately there are currently not enough 755s to operate regular Liverpool St to Newmarket direct services and GN don’t have any bimodal units in its fleet. I have always thought wiring to Newmarket and improving the station and link from Cambridge to be a good idea. Before the second hourly cruiser was extended to Ely I thought Newmarket was a potential destination.

 

[CMS1]

Unfortunately there are currently not enough 755s to operate regular Liverpool St to Newmarket direct services and GN don’t have any bimodal units in its fleet. I have always thought wiring to Newmarket and improving the station and link from Cambridge to be a good idea. Before the second hourly cruiser was extended to Ely I thought Newmarket was a potential destination.

There's a lot of FLIRTS in East Anglia only running on diesel which isn't a good use.... Not sure what to replace them with though!

 

[dk1]

There's a lot of FLIRTS in East Anglia only running on diesel which isn't a good use.... Not sure what to replace them with though!

After around £100m being spent on Crown Point to maintain the Stadler fleet they won’t be going anywhere. They all dwell/stable at Norwich/Ipswich/Crown Point on the juice where possible and would have to be diesels on the rural routes anyway so doesn’t really matter. I don’t thing through services to Newmarket have ever been proposed or even of interest to any operator since privatisation or under the latter days of BR before it for that matter.

 

[daodao]

What about the service from Bristol to Oxford extending to Cambridge?

Running trains from Cambridge through to Bristol would import delays from the GW main line onto what is intended to be a self-contained route from Cambridge to Oxford. The most that could be justified is extending 1 tph off the Varsity line as far as Didcot, to provide connections there to GW main line services. Running direct 2-3 coach trains from Oxford to Bristol would waste precious capacity on the GW main line, particularly as they would run at a slower speed, and is not warranted.

 

[Magdalia]

I'm not sure where you got that from. What Norfolk & Suffolk want is connectivity to the wider UK to overcome the geographical isolation of East Anglia. Whilst London links are good, there's only 1 other link in/out which is the slow trip to Peterborough, offering good links northward but not to Central England or the West Midlands.

The train service and the data. The one other link is a 1tph 2 car train, and the biggest one way flow beyond the East of England is Nottingham at 15k, less than 50 passengers per day. It also provides links to Central England and the West Midlands via a change at Peterborough. In contrast Norwich-Cambridge is 76k and Norwich-Stansted 42k. Listen to any Norfolk/Suffolk politician or business leader: what they want is better connectivity to Cambridge.

Running trains from Cambridge through to Bristol would import delays from the GW main line onto what is intended to be a self-contained route from Cambridge to Oxford. The most that could be justified is extending 1 tph off the Varsity line as far as Didcot, to provide connections there to GW main line services. Running direct 2-3 coach trains from Oxford to Bristol would waste precious capacity on the GW main line, particularly as they would run at a slower speed, and is not warranted.

The one extension beyond Cambridge-Oxford that I think worth considering is to Didcot or Swindon, to give one change connectivity to Cardiff, Bristol and Bath. But that's only if there is no separate Oxford-Bristol service, which I think is a better option.

 

[cle]

The train service and the data. The one other link is a 1tph 2 car train, and the biggest one way flow beyond the East of England is Nottingham at 15k, less than 50 passengers per day. It also provides links to Central England and the West Midlands via a change at Peterborough. In contrast Norwich-Cambridge is 76k and Norwich-Stansted 42k. Listen to any Norfolk/Suffolk politician or business leader: what they want is better connectivity to Cambridge.


The one extension beyond Cambridge-Oxford that I think worth considering is to Didcot or Swindon, to give one change connectivity to Cardiff, Bristol and Bath. But that's only if there is no separate Oxford-Bristol service, which I think is a better option.

I think an EWR extension west is better from MKC, ie to Bristol. In time it could be its own pattern, as the other TPH could either get to Reading, or to Didcot. Or they both get to Cowley one day if Marylebone didn't happen for any reason.

Cambridge is far and demand to the west of England is small. You'd get to Bristol far quicker via Kings Cross on a Cruiser, and Paddington.

 

[CMS1]

The train service and the data. The one other link is a 1tph 2 car train, and the biggest one way flow beyond the East of England is Nottingham at 15k, less than 50 passengers per day. It also provides links to Central England and the West Midlands via a change at Peterborough. In contrast Norwich-Cambridge is 76k and Norwich-Stansted 42k. Listen to any Norfolk/Suffolk politician or business leader: what they want is better connectivity to Cambridge.

But that's the point, the connections are missing at the moment so apart from London most the traffic is on the roads. To measure EWR demand, the only reliable source of information is the road traffic data. I live here and being in management myself, speak to a lot of businesses and managers, Cambridge is a key city for certain industries & for tourism, but there is a a lot of traffic beyond that for which there are few rail options currently. Have a look at the map below, there is currently NO rail network across the entire red line below:


Beeching also saw this as more valuable than an east-west line at Peterborough:

 

[Verulamius]

I think an EWR extension west is better from MKC, ie to Bristol. In time it could be its own pattern, as the other TPH could either get to Reading, or to Didcot. Or they both get to Cowley one day if Marylebone didn't happen for any reason.

Cambridge is far and demand to the west of England is small. You'd get to Bristol far quicker via Kings Cross on a Cruiser, and Paddington.

Network Rail issued on 22 October 2025 an Early Indicator of Likely Congested Infrastructure: Foxhall Junction to Wootton Bassett Junction
(Great Western Main Line). This may cause complications with the extension of EWR west of Didcot.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Early-Indicator-of-Congested-Infrastructure-Foxhall-Jn-Oct25.pdf

This route section is already nearing capacity, largely caused by the mix of traffic using the route and additionally NRIL is anticipating an increase in further access rights sought for services from a combination of existing operators and aspirant open access operators across this route section.
NRIL has therefore prepared this advisory notice following operator engagement to understand
the likely and aspirational forecast demand.

The following applications which are proposing to utilise this geography triggering the Early Indicator of Likely Congested Infrastructure are:
• MCWR: (Nottingham <> Bristol Temple Meads) (Section 17)
• GWR: 301st (Bristol Temple Meads <> Oxford) (Section 22A)
• Lumo: Paddington <> Hereford (Section 22A)
• Lumo Paddington <> Paignton (Section 22A)

 

[cle]

And soon there will be, right in the middle.

I wonder what the future of OA will be - as somebody was angling for Bristol - Oxford - Nottingham. XC could also get involved in pieces of it, the EWR itself will have capacity.

 

[Magdalia]

Have a look at the map below, there is currently NO rail network across the entire red line below

I have spent half a century going over the top or under the bottom of that red line.

But that doesn't mean that there are enough people wanting to do the same to justify a direct rail service from Norwich to Oxford. Only 15k people a year want to go from Norwich to Nottingham, Norwich to Oxford isn't going to be much different.

And soon there will be, right in the middle.

But only because of rapid economic growth in Oxford and Cambridge, not because the red line on the map is a long one.

 

[cle]

I have spent half a century going over the top or under the bottom of that red line.

But that doesn't mean that there are enough people wanting to do the same to justify a direct rail service from Norwich to Oxford. Only 15k people a year want to go from Norwich to Nottingham, Norwich to Oxford isn't going to be much different.


But only because of rapid economic growth in Oxford and Cambridge, not because the red line on the map is a long one.

Exactly, one is a reason, the other is an observation. But once it's there, patterns will evolve.

 

[CMS1]

But that doesn't mean that there are enough people wanting to do the same to justify a direct rail service from Norwich to Oxford. Only 15k people a year want to go from Norwich to Nottingham, Norwich to Oxford isn't going to be much different.

Norwich to Oxford is a poor example as via London is still quite direct, Norwich to Milton Keynes is a better example.

 

[Magdalia]

However, there's many examples where there's no viable way to take the train at the moment, e.g. Cambridge to Northampton.

Of course there are many examples like this, but very few of them have enough potential to justify building a railway line, or to provide direct services by existing routes.

I travel Cambridge-Chelmsford by train quite frequently, but I don't expect there to be a direct service for me and a few others.

 

[CMS1]

Absolutely, but many birds can be killed with 1 stone with a Cambridge to Birmingham or an Ipswich to Birmingham service added to EWR

 

[ABB125]

An east-to-north curve at Bletchley would cut Cambridge-Birmingham down to 1h50-2h, a significant improvement

That's also in the same ball park as the journey time by road (obviously depends to an extent on exactly where you're going to/from)

 

[Magdalia]

Absolutely, but many birds can be killed with 1 stone with a Cambridge to Birmingham or an Ipswich to Birmingham service added to EWR

Actually not many birds. Cambridge-Birmingham already has direct trains, over the top of your red line, and the one way flow is 15k per year.

Cambridge-Birmingham via EWR has already been raked over many times here. Through trains won't happen because of constraints on reversing at Bletchley, though people will be able to do it with a change at Bletchley.

 

[dk1]

Actually not many birds. Cambridge-Birmingham already has direct trains, over the top of your red line, and the one way flow is 15k per year.

Cambridge-Birmingham via EWR has already been raked over many times here. Through trains won't happen because of constraints on reversing at Bletchley, though people will be able to do it with a change at Bletchley.

Changing at Bletchley will be simple, straightforward, & in times of disruption and during engineering blockades an excellent alternative to the current direct route.

 

[Magdalia]

An east-to-north curve at Bletchley would cut Cambridge-Birmingham down to 1h50-2h

An east-north curve at Bletchley is not in the EWR proposals.

 

[vic-rijrode]

An east-north curve at Bletchley is not in the EWR proposals.

There was a South to West curve however, briefly....

 

[Farigiraf]

An east-north curve at Bletchley is not in the EWR proposals.

Neither are any plans to stop Avanti services at Bletchley, making the only one-transfer route via Bletchley take at least 2h 45 (minimum connection time at BLY, LNR stopper) which is not 'quicker than Leicester' via as you stated. So the majority of passengers will stick to the direct service unless the via Bletchley route is considerably cheaper.

 

[sharpener]

Cambridge is far and demand to the west of England is small. You'd get to Bristol far quicker via Kings Cross on a Cruiser, and Paddington.

We travel every few weeks from Cambridge to Totnes and it's an awful journey across London. The trains are not well timed so you end up spending ~30 mins on the concourse at Paddington, which is frightfully noisy (what ARE all those hooters going off all the time?).

At Cambridge getting from the bus stops to P7/P8 is a long walk* and the final straw was when they stopped through trains on the Circle Line. The TSRs on the B & H mean that timekeeping has been poor all year.

If all this were fixed the journey from Cambridge to the WoE would be more attractive and ridership might be higher.

* I thought there was a plan for a second footbridge but the recent coverage of the EWR stuff is all about a new exit from the station to the East.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Sorry if this is not the best place to ask, but when will passenger services start running over the line between Oxford and Bicester? There’s freight and charters but little else,will Winslow ever get a service?

 

[dk1]

We travel every few weeks from Cambridge to Totnes and it's an awful journey across London. The trains are not well timed so you end up spending ~30 mins on the concourse at Paddington, which is frightfully noisy (what ARE all those hooters going off all the time?).

At Cambridge getting from the bus stops to P7/P8 is a long walk* and the final straw was when they stopped through trains on the Circle Line. The TSRs on the B & H mean that timekeeping has been poor all year.

If all this were fixed the journey from Cambridge to the WoE would be more attractive and ridership might be higher.

* I thought there was a plan for a second footbridge but the recent coverage of the EWR stuff is all about a new exit from the station to the East.

No room for another footbridge at Cambridge. Try going a little earlier via Liverpool St & using the excellent Elizabeth Line. I don’t think anything mentioned would have that much effect on ridership numbers if I’m honed.

 

[JonathanH]

Sorry if this is not the best place to ask, but when will passenger services start running over the line between Oxford and Bicester? There’s freight and charters but little else,will Winslow ever get a service?

Unknown, but this isn't the thread to discuss it - see currently closed thread here https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/east-west-rail-ewr-countdown-to-entry-into-service.275902/