How is Covid-19 impacting East West Rail?

The health and wellbeing of people in and around the line, as well our team is important to everyone at East West Rail. Find out how we’re reacting to the unfolding situation.

Events of the last six months have caused all of us to adjust and re-examine what’s important. At the East West Rail Company, that’s meant looking at how we work, and given us a new drive to deliver this critical connection for communities.

Our team have been working from home throughout the evolving situation and have taken advantage of new technology to keep the project working to time and budget.

The impact of the COVID-19 Crisis was just beginning to be understood when - in March - we took the necessary step of cancelling the final third in a series of face to face public information events for East West Rail. In the months that followed, we’ve fundamentally adjusted the way we think about our interactions with local communities and their representatives and have searched out new ways to connect. We’ve held events with Parish Councils and Ward Councillors, representatives of the business community and any number of other groups.

Today we launch the Hub – a key online space for us to listen to and talk with people, and we plan to continue evolving and improving our approach. If you have thoughts on how we can do this, please visit the Hub, where we’re conducting a survey on communication methods.

Something which unites the team at EWR Co, is the knowledge that delivering East West Rail is now more important than ever. In the short term, as planning develops and construction starts, billions of pounds will pour into the local economy through our supply chain and thousands of jobs will be created.

Longer term, EWR will create an unrivalled knowledge arc by linking internationally renowned science parks and world-beating universities, in an environment where high-tech industries cluster, and organisations such as AstraZeneca are at the cutting edge of medical collaboration between private research and academia. It will stimulate economic growth, making it easier for business to start and grow, and support new homes to make it more affordable to live in the local area.

As the situation continues to unfold, we promise to keep you and our team safe – and will update you with any changes.

This article featured in the Autumn edition of our quarterly newsletter, Keeping you Connected. You can read the full newsletter here.