Link Bedford to the ECML

Industry Insider (RAIL 961) referred to the “difficulty in obtaining land” to enable the East West Rail route to continue all the way to Cambridge.

HS2 has had no difficulty in securing the land it needs AND in a direction that suits itself. Is there a different set of rules for HS2?

Has so much been squandered on HS2 that worthwhile projects are being starved of the economic resources they need - to be delayed, redacted, or cancelled altogether?

Of course, the Varsity Line (as it was once called) should never have been torn up in the first place. They even ripped out the few miles of track between Bedford and the East Coast Main Line. How did Bedford-Bletchley escape closure, but Bedford-Sandy did not?

Since we have had to do without the Varsity Line for 55 years, we could easily continue to go without. I do not see sufficient need for much passenger service westwards out of Cambridge, nor freight.

But Oxford to Bletchley is vital (and nearly complete). So, if Oxford to Bedford is on the horizon, let’s continue just a bit further and connect Bedford to the ECML.

This would enable (for example) Reading and Oxford to access all three major lines out of London. This could still be called the East West Railway. Reading to Bedford will link five main lines, including the Chiltern Line.

Peter Hemming, Harrow