The Anonymous Widower

Council Opposes Six Track Plan For East West Rail

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Councillors have voted to oppose part of a major railway line being built through their district.

These four paragraphs add detail to the story

Bedford Borough Council wants the East West Rail (EWR) line to be made up of four tracks, rather than six, in the Poets area north of the town.

Thirty-seven homes would need to be demolished in order to accommodate the two additional tracks.

However, in their full-council meeting on Wednesday, members agreed to support other parts of the project, such as the relocation of Stewartby station and the closure of Kempston Hardwick.

An EWR spokesperson said it was committed to working with local communities.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the Midland Main Line and the East-West Rail through Bedford.

Note.

1. The solid orange line running from the North-West corner of the map to its Southern edge is the electrified Midland Main Line.
2. The blue arrow on this line indicates Bedford station.
3. The blue lettering to the South-East of Bedford station, indicates Bedford St. Johns station.
4. The yellow line connecting the two stations is the Eastern end of the Marston Vale Line, which connects Bedford and Bletchley stations.
5. The Marston Vale Line will be taken over by the East-West Rail.
6. Just North of Bedford station is Bedford North junction.

The East-West Rail branches away from Bedford North junction  to the North-East on its way to Cambridge. It is shown as a dotted orange line.

This OpenRailwayMap shows Bedford station to a larger scale.

Note,

1. The Western pair of orange lines are the current fast lines of the Midland Main Line.
2. The Eastern pair of orange lines are the current slow lines of the Midland Main Line.
3. To the East the orange dotted line shows indicates a proposed route of the East-West Rail.
4. There appear to be crossovers that allow East-West Rail services to use Platforms 1 and 2 through Bedford station.

Between the Midland Main Line and East-West Rail platforms, the current Platform 1A used by the Marston Vale Line can be seen.

This picture show the current Marston Vale Line platform at Bedford station,

Note.

1. The Marston Vale Line platform is on the left.
2. It is numbered 1A.
3. The platform is electrified, so can it be it used to terminate some Thameslink services.

It could also be used to terminate East-West Rail services from the West and if they were battery-electric trains they could be charged.

Oxford and Bedford is 51 miles or 82 kilometers, which is within range of a modern battery-electric train. Es[ecially, if it did a ‘splash and dash’ at Milton Keynes Central or Bletchley!

This OpenRailwayMap shows the lines to the North of Bedford station.

Note.

1. The current four-track Midland Main Line running diagonally across the map.
2. The East-West Rail running along on the East side and branching off to Cambridge.
3. Crossovers between the Midland Main Line and East-West Rail.

It looks to me, that operation of East-West Rail trains through Bedford station will be as follows.

• Oxford to Cambridge trains will use the crossovers to call in the existing Platform 2 at Bedford station.
• Cambridge to Oxford to will use the crossovers to call in the existing Platform 1 at Bedford station.
• Trains that are not stopping could use the avoiding line along the East side of the station.
• Oxford to Bedford terminating trains, would stop in Platform 1A.

Because there would be a crossover between the Midland Main Line slow lines and the East-West Rail to the South and North of Bedford station, I suspect for operatuional reasons and safety Network Rail want a double track avoiding line.

January 17, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Bedford St Johns Station, Bedford Station, Bletchley Station, Cambridge, East-West Rail, Marston Vale Line, Midland Main Line, Thameslink