Thousands take part in East West Rail’s latest consultation

The company set to deliver a new railway line to connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge has welcomed record numbers of attendees to its latest consultation.

More than 5,200 people visited 16 in-person events which took place in communities along the entire route and provided more details about the new scheme.

The railway, which is split into three phases and will take around a decade to complete, will drive economic growth in the region and the UK as a whole. This is East West Railway Company’s third consultation, which lasted for 10 weeks and provided the public with the opportunity to view the latest designs and give feedback on the proposals.

The consultation, which closed on Friday, January 24, has seen record levels of engagement with attendance more than doubled from the previous round of engagement in 2023 and also exceeding the consultation in 2019.

Highlights include:

• 5,206 people attended in-person community events
• To date, more than 5,500 responses have been received
• 44,296 website consultation page views have been made
• More than 6,000 interactive map views have been registered
• The virtual consultation room has recorded 5,800 views by 2,200 users

David Hughes, CEO at EWR Co, said:

“East West Rail is a once in a generation opportunity to connect people and businesses across the region and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come and talk to us and share their views.

“We are now working to review and analyse the feedback that has been received to help inform the continued development of the design over the coming months.”

To date, East West Rail has held three rounds of engagement on its plans, using the feedback to develop more detailed designs. The company is now working on its final proposals which will be presented to the public before a planning application for the new infrastructure, a Development Consent Order (DCO), is submitted to the government.

East West Rail is being proposed to enhance the region’s thriving life science cluster, unlock access to jobs and space for businesses to grow, regenerate town centres, improve connectivity across the region and the rest of the UK, and support new affordable housing. The Government committed to delivering the new railway line in full in its 2024 Autumn budget.
 Following a summary report on the consultation, which will be available on the East West Rail website in the coming weeks, finalised proposals will be presented at a statutory consultation due to be held in late 2025/early 2026.

For more information about East West Rail, please visit our home page or contact our helpdesk at co[email protected]  

For information and feedback from our previous consultation in 2021, visit:   
https://eastwestrail.co.uk/consultationfeedbackreport  

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Media assets:  
Video on our consultation and what happens next

Video on traction  

Media image gallery

Notes to Editors:   

• The purpose of the non-statutory consultation was to obtain feedback on the early designs, including areas where are considering options. Feedback will be taken into account as we develop the designs in more detail and select preferred options. Feedback will also be used to review potential opportunities and inform plans to mitigate the impacts of the project.  
• A statutory consultation will then be carried out where we will present more information about the proposed infrastructure, its likely environmental impacts and the measures and strategies we are developing to mitigate those impacts. Feedback from the statutory consultation will be taken into account before we finalise our proposals and submit our application for a Development Consent Order, which if approved, would grant consent to build the new railway between Bedford and Cambridge, as well as the other upgrades between Oxford and Bedford to deliver the full proposed EWR service.  

Attendance at consultation events:

*A total of 2,337 people attended the Route Update Announcement in 2023 and 3,523 attended the first non-statutory consultation in 2019*.

Media contacts:   

• Press office email: [email protected]   
• Press office phone: 0330 134 0053    

  About the East West Rail Project     

The East West Rail Project is a once in a generation opportunity to connect people and businesses between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge through a new direct rail line. It is a railway with community at its heart that will open up new journeys, cut travel times, and ease congestion on local roads. The route will connect people to the things and places that matter, bringing local benefit and sustainable growth by unlocking the social and economic potential of the area.     

The East West Rail Project will be delivered in three Connection Stages:        

• Connection Stage One: Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes      
• Connection Stage Two: Oxford to Bedford      
• Connection Stage Three: Oxford to Cambridge      

Network Rail was responsible for developing the first part of Connection Stage One, connecting Oxford with Bicester before the East West Rail Company (EWR Co) was set up. Since 2018, EWR Co and Network Rail have partnered in a construction alliance, East West Rail Alliance, to complete Connection Stage One. EWR Co and Network Rail are acting as the Department for Transport’s joint sponsors.           

To deliver Connection Stage 2, work is ongoing to bring forward services between Oxford and Bedford from the end of the decade. Planning consent for these works was also granted by the Transport and Works Act order in 2020.        

Connection Stage 3 would complete East West Rail and enable passenger services to operate between Oxford and Cambridge via Bletchley and Bedford. To complete this work, we will need to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO), which would grant consent to build the new railway between Bedford and Cambridge, as well as the other upgrades between Oxford and Bedford to deliver the full proposed EWR service.          

About East West Railway Company      

The East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is a non-departmental public body with limited company status set up by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2017 to deliver the East West Rail (EWR) Project.             

EWR Co aims to bring fresh thinking to the Project, challenging the industry status quo, leading to more efficient and cost-effective project delivery and better outcomes for the communities in and around the Project.           

The corridor, which runs from Oxford through Milton Keynes and Bedford to Cambridge, is an economic artery that makes the UK a global leader in life sciences, technology and innovation, with the potential to create jobs, drive growth and attract investment for the entire country. EWR Co’s ambition is to unlock the full potential of this region that is vital to keeping the UK globally competitive in a way that considers the environment and offers value for taxpayers.