East West Rail Company (EWR Co) has confirmed plans to deliver a new station at Tempsford ahead of time to enable better connections along the Government’s ‘growth corridor’ between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge route.
The new station is now set to be delivered up to five years earlier than planned, providing a station for services on the East Coast Main Line travelling north to south, whilst the Oxford to Cambridge rail line is still under construction.
In an announcement today (29.01.25), the Chancellor provided support to the East West Rail scheme to allow the station to be delivered under an accelerated timeframe. By delivering a phased approach to the construction of a station at Tempsford, new housing and growth opportunities can then be brought forward. This announcement was part of a range of plans unveiled by the Chancellor to boost growth along the Oxford-Cambridge corridor.
David Hughes, CEO of East West Railway Company, said:
“The Chancellor’s decision highlights the crucial role East West Rail will play in unlocking growth for the UK economy by providing infrastructure which can support new jobs and much needed affordable housing, as well as supporting this region’s world leading life sciences cluster.”
The Chancellor’s announcement follows her Budget announcement in October, in which she outlined the Government’s commitment to delivering East West Rail in full. When built, East West Rail will connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. The construction of East West Rail will boost access to jobs, and education and business opportunities, while unlocking economic growth and productivity right across the region.
Proposals on the site options and detailed design of Tempsford station is under review after the latest public consultation on East West Rail ended last week. Feedback from this consultation is now being analysed and the final design of the railway, including the location of the station at Tempsford, will be presented at a statutory consultation which is due to be held in the next 12 months.
Tempsford station Q&A
No, this decision demonstrates the Government’s commitment to improving connectivity across the region and enabling critical housing infrastructure to be brought forwards. East West Rail is still reviewing feedback from its latest consultation and using this feedback is finalising its final designs which will be presented at a Statutory Consultation. East West Rail will then apply for a Development Consent Order by submitting our plans to the Secretary of State and the Planning Inspectorate.
Both options at Tempsford (known as 1b and 1c) support a station on the ECML. We have consulted on both these options at our Non-Statutory Consultation and will be reviewing the feedback and confirming a preference in due course.
As the platforms on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) at Tempsford are separate to the plans to build the infrastructure for East West Rail there are a number of consenting routes available to support accelerate the delivery of the ECML station, we are considering all options and will be able to confirm more information as plans develop.
No, we are still working out the timelines of delivery but would look to accelerate the ECML station and then deliver EWR services in line with our original timescales for the rest of the route. Under our current proposals, if consent is received, we would look to have the full East West Rail route open in the mid 2030s.
The detailed plans for Tempsford station are yet to be fully determined, as the precise location of the station is still being considered as part of the feedback analysis following our Non-Statutory Consultation. The finance for this station will come from within the EWR costs already set out, so this work is not an additional cost to the programme.