EWR recently published their preferred route for the Bedford to Cambridge section following the non-statutory consultation during 2021. The preferred route is Route E option 1 with a slight variation to incorporate part of option 9 to circumvent Roxton and bring the line into a station at Tempsford.
They did give consideration to route B, as suggested by the Bfare group but, rather than focus on a route significantly south of the river Ouse, they examined 2 alternatives referred to as ‘varsity and varsity hybrid’ which utilized parts of route 51 (the old rail line) and were a variant of the so called ‘B+ route’. Upon examination, they concluded that these alternatives were not feasible. This is fortunate, as their passage ran parallel with the A421 and would have directly impacted Renhold (Water End and Green End in particular) and the surrounding area and infrastructure.
The proposed alignment exits Bedford Midland station to the north (which will be 6 tracks and require the demolition of housing at the ‘poets’), past Ravensden to its West, eastward above Wilden and then crosses the A421 near Roxton until it eventually meets the main GNR rail line at Tempsford.
There appears to be no infrastructure impact to Renhold, but whether construction traffic and material movements would affect Renhold’s transport network is currently unclear. The Parish Council will continue to be represented on the LRG and engage with EWR to ensure any disruption of the transport network around Renhold has mitigation features inbuilt.
The proposed route will be going to Statutory Consultation in the first half of 2024. We can only hope that this does not result in EWR revisiting either of the ‘varsity variants’.
