Smarter Cambridge Transport

Category - Rail

Response to Foxton Travel Hub consultation 2021

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has pushed on with this so-called “travel hub” scheme at Foxton without proper consideration of the fundamentals.

Time to suspend peak-time rail fares?

If they don’t travel five days a week, many part-time commuters will simply not return to trains and buses if they are able to drive instead.

Improved plans for Cambridge station

Unfortunately, although there are outstanding issues with the new development, these are unlikely to see it blocked a second time.

Response to Eastern Access consultation

Smarter Cambridge Transport’s comments and additional ideas for improving access to Cambridge by cycle, bus and train from the east.

Too much busway, too little station

Two more public consultations recently launched illustrate just how out-of-step with the times transport authorities are.

What is the future for rail franchising?

Will the government choose TfL-style franchising as its preferred model to ensure continuity of services whilst keeping operations in the private sector?

Haverhill Rail: the Missing A1307 Option

A conservative extrapolation from the St Ives busway to the Haverhill railway provides a forecast of about 4.5m trips/year. So why isn’t reopening the railway still under consideration?

A bridge over Foxton level crossing

There's a plan to re-route the A10 via a bridge or underpass and close the level crossing at Foxton. Unfortunately, as with Skanska's proposal for Whittlesford, the scope is too narrow.

Whittlesford station: the neglected gateway

Whittlesford has a neglected station with poor access. Upgraded to 'Parkway' status in 2007, it still lacks basic facilities like toilets or a bridge between the platforms suitable for people with limited mobility.

Put the railway at the centre of things

How Cambridge North, the future south station, and the main station can form the backbone of a ‘Cambridge Overground’ metro within five years.

Do I have to take a taxi from the station?

If we want to make Cambridge railway station less car dependent, what more could we do to promote walking, cycling and bus travel? Many visitors arriving at the station take a taxi simply because other options are...

Time for a railway station at Fulbourn Hospital

One of the great frustrations with transport planning in the UK is that it is easier, quicker and often cheaper for a local authority to build a new road than it is for the same local authority, Network Rail and train...

Invest in rail, not dualling the A10

The argument for dualling the A10 from Ely is that it requires more capacity to cope with population growth; that slow commute times put fewer jobs within commuting distance and reduce economic productivity (though, for...

A Metro for Cambridge

There has been great interest in the light rail scheme proposed by Cambridge Connect. It’s obvious why: rail services are easy to understand, reliable, safe, comfortable and usually come with high quality stations...

Rebooting the City Deal

Smarter Cambridge Transport held its first public event, Rebooting The City Deal, on Friday 14 October at Wolfson College, attended by around 250 people. Our thanks to Antony Carpen for videoing the event. Here are the...

Greater Cambridge City Deal: A New Approach

Areas of concern [Updated 23 August 2016: expanded section on access and parking permits] Here in summary are ten concerns that residents, businesses and observers have voiced about the City Deal: The City Deal is...

Travel Hubs

A ‘travel hub’ refers to a bus, tram or train station with more facilities than a bus stop, and with the dominant modes of access being walking and cycling.

Localism and the strategic transport network

There is an urgent need for localism to include Highways England and the rail industry. The inability of local authorities to include strategic highways and railways in their short and medium term transport planning is...

Rail and its untapped potential

Thanks to Railfuture East Anglia for their assistance in preparing this paper. The potential of rail Cambridge’s railway network already has a significant role in bringing people into the city, with an annual footfall...