Summary
This is a plan to reinstate a rail line from Haverhill to Cambridge, initially mooted in 2017.
Background
This is a plan to reinstate a rail line from Haverhill to Cambridge, initially mooted in 2017.
The initiative lost favour as it does not fit in with the CAM or CSET plans, but it still has some public and political support (most notably from Matt Hancock, MP for Haverhill).
Railfuture East Anglia are working towards submitting a bid to the government’s ‘Restoring Your Railway Fund’ (RYR) to explore the prospects for reopening the railway from Cambridge to Haverhill.
They have asked for GSPC support of this bid, but there are concerns that CSET has progressed too far for this to be viable and that Great Shelford Parishioners may prefer that the land involved is used for extending the Sawston Greenway rather than another passenger transport service.
Stapleford Parish Council supports this bid.
Useful Links
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/re-opening-beeching-era-lines-and-stations/re-opening-beeching-era-lines-and-stations
Consultation
No GSPC consultation is proposed at present although information and links will be posted on the GSPC website.
Current Position
GSPC recognises the potential benefits of this initiative but with the critical nature of other infrastructure issues, we are not currently able to champion this initiative. Great Shelford Parish Council have requested that GCP consult publicly and consider fully a range of options including use of the old railway line as an alternative to the favoured CSET busway route.
