Is This The Problem At Bedford With The East West Railway?
The East West Railway certainly has problems at Bedford.
These two posts seem to be creating an impasse on getting the railway built and/or operational.
So I took a quick look at the rail lines in the rail around and trough Bedford, as shown in this OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- The Midland Main Line runs down the left hand side of the map.
- Bedford station is marked by the blue arrow,
- The East Coast Main Line runs down the right hand side of the map.
- Stations on the East Coast Main Line from North to South are St. Neots, Sandy, Biggleswade and Arlesey.
- The East West Railway is planned to connect to the East Coast Main Line at a new station at Tempsford , which will be South of St. Neots.
- The original connection was to be at Sandy.
- There used to be a railway between Bedford and Sandy.
- This railway between Bedford and Sandy, was the Varsity Line and I write about its current status in Is The Varsity Line Trackbed Between Bedford And Sandy Still There? – No, is the only answer.
- In Did Beeching Recommend Closure Of The Varsity Line?, I find out that he didn’t and it was totally the fault of Labour Politicians; Barbara Castle and Tom Fraser, with perhaps some help from Harold Wilson. Were they jealous that Oxford and Cambridge had a better link than the non-existent one across the North?
Did Beeching Recommend Closure Of The Varsity Line?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post, and received this answer.
No, Dr. Richard Beeching did not recommend the closure of the Varsity Line in his 1963 report The Reshaping of British Railways.
In fact, the report recommended retaining the line with only minor curtailments.However, despite surviving the initial “Beeching cuts,” the line was ultimately closed a few years later following separate reviews by the government.
Key Details of the Line’s Demise
The First Hit (1966): Local freight facilities and minor sections were withdrawn.
Total Passenger Closure (1967): The passenger service between Bedford and Cambridge was officially withdrawn by then-Minister of Transport Tom Fraser.
The Oxford-Bletchley Segment: The passenger services between Oxford and Bletchley avoided complete closure at that time but were eventually heavily scaled back.
The closure of the Bedford to Cambridge section is largely attributed to Transport Minister Barbara Castle’s decision, as she authorized the withdrawal of services due to the route’s heavy operating losses.
Is The Varsity Line Trackbed Between Bedford And Sandy Still There?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this post, and received this answer.
The trackbed between Bedford and Sandy largely survives as an open, walkable alignment, but the original tracks themselves were removed decades ago.
Today, much of this section of the old Varsity Line (often referred to as the Bedford-Cambridge route) operates as National Cycle Route 51, though a few specific areas have seen modern development.
The status of the trackbed varies depending on the specific location:
:Bedford to Sandy (General): The rails and sleepers are long gone, but the formation is still clearly visible.
A large section of the trackbed between Bedford and Sandy has been repurposed as a traffic-free path for cyclists and walkers (National Cycle Route 51).
Sandy Station Area: The former Varsity Line platforms at Sandy were cleared after the line closed in 1968.
New housing has been built over parts of the route through the town, altering the original alignment.Because the original alignment was interrupted by modern housing and other developments in certain areas, the upcoming East West Rail project—which aims to re-establish a direct railway between Oxford and Cambridge—will bypass the original trackbed for the central section (Bedford to Cambridge).
The new railway is slated to follow a slightly different route.
Conclusion
More Than A Thousand People In This Town Want A Rail Service To Cambridge
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Cambridgeshire Live.
This is the first three paragraphs.
t’s a town talked about more for its struggling market than its booming businesses.
But more than a thousand people in St Neots have signed a petition wanting to see that end.
The petition, which was started by Michelle Woodbridge, a resident from the town, wants the ‘forgotten’ area to be part of a new rail connection between Oxford and Cambridge – which people believe may revitalise the area.
St. Neots station is on the East Coast Main
- It is to the East of the town.
- The station has a new footbridge with lifts.
- It has an half-hourly Thameslink service between Peterborough and Horsham, with extra services in the Peak.
- There is a bus connection to Cambridge
This Google Map shows the Eastern area of the town around the railway station.
Note.
- The large area of development to the East of the station.
- The A428 road running across the bottom half of the map.
- The A428 is being upgraded and could become a dual-carriageway route to Cambridge via Caxton Gibbet, Cambourne and Madingley.
The East-West Rail Link between Oxford and Cambridge is planned to cross the East Coast Main Line at Sandy and then take a Southerly route to Cambridge South station.
The Route Option B is described like this in Wikipedia.
Route B involves running from the Marston Vale line to a new Bedford South station before then running to a relocated Sandy (to the north Tempsford area or south of St. Neots). The route heads east to a new station in Cambourne before swinging south to join the existing line northbound to Cambridge.
It does seem a bit of a roundabout route, but the new station at Tempsford could be a well-placed Park-and-Ride station for Cambridge.
I don’t think that the choice of route between Bedford and Cambridge will be easy.
However, certain factors may help in the design of the route.
An Improved A1 Road
The A1 road runs North-South to the West of the East Coast Main Line.
The road is only a two lanes in each direction and probably needs improvement.
So the improvements could be done in conjunction with the building of the East-West Rail Link.
The East Coast Main Line Is Four Tracks
Much of the East Coast Main Line is four tracks or could be made so, through St. Neots and Sandy stations.
Both stations have four platforms.
Sandy Station Could Be An Interchange Between The East-West Rail Link And The East Coast Main Line
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sandy station developed into a comprehensiove interchange station, either in its present position or slightly closer to St. Neots.
It would be served by the following services.
- East Coast Main Line services between Kings Cross, the North of England and the East of Scotland.
- Tramslink services between London and Peterborough.
- East-West services between Cambridge and Oxford via Bedford and Milton Keynes.
It would also be a Park-and Ride station for London, Bedford and Cambridge.
The East Coast Main Line Will Be Digitally Signalled
This must help increase the numbers of trains on the Route.
Greater Anglia Are Ambitious
I just wonder if there was a flyover at Sandy station, if trains could use the East Coast Main Line and the East West Rail Link to create a new service from Cambridge to Peterborough via Cambridge South, Sandy, St. Neots, and Huntingdon.
It would suit Greater Anglia’s ambitions and the 100 mph Class 755 trains could handle the partially-electrified route with ease.
There could even be a circular service, where trains returned from Peterborough via March, Ely, Waterbeach and Cambridge North.
- The trains would not terminate at Cambridge, but would go through the three Cambridge stations in order.
- Four trains per hour (tph), with two going via Sandy and two via Ely could be handled in a single platform at Peterborough.
I estimate the following times are possible
- Cambridge and Peterborough via Sandy – 60 minutes
- Cambridge and Peterborough via Ely – 50 minutes
Two tph doing the circular route in both directions would need eight trains. All stations would get at least two tph service to Cambridge and Peterborough.
Conclusion
I can see a time when there is a direct service between Peterborough and Cambridge via Cambridge South, Sandy, St. Neots, and Huntingdon.
St. Neots would have a two tph service to Cambridge South, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Ely and Peterborough.
The Anonymous Widower 