Media centre

Wednesday 30 Sep 2009

£60M+ EAST COAST RAIL LINK PLANS SUBMITTED

Region & Route:

| Eastern

A multimillion pound rail link which will help reduce delays and allow extra trains to travel to and from London moved a step closer today as Network Rail submitted its formal application to the Department for Transport. 

The new section of railway near Hitchin will remove one the country’s worst bottlenecks, taking the line to Cambridge over, rather than across, the East Coast Main Line.

Today trains travelling from London to Cambridge have to cross three other lines to switch between the East Coast Main Line and the line to Cambridge. This reduces capacity for other services and makes the railway less reliable when delays occur. 

The new rail link would avoid these problems completely, cutting delays to train services by nearly 18,000 minutes every year and helping create the capacity to run more services to and from the capital every hour. 

Richard Lungmuss, route director, Network Rail said: “The investment we are planning in the Hitchin area is about improving transport links, reducing delays to passengers and increasing the number of services. Rail users in Hitchin and the length of the country will feel the benefits of this scheme as we remove the biggest remaining pinch point on the East Coast Main Line.” 

Network Rail has consulted both with local authorities in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and among the local community. The design for the new rail line is as low profile as possible, involving a mixture of embankment and viaduct and a full environmental impact study has looked at issues including landscaping, noise levels, rivers and flooding and ecology. 

In April, more than 300 people took the opportunity to attend a public exhibition held by Network Rail at Hitchin Priory where they could view the proposals in detail, speak to the project team and give their thoughts and feedback. An exhibition was also held at Highfield School, Letchworth in July in response to a request from local residents to discuss proposals to manage construction traffic.

Mr Lungmuss continued: “We are delighted to have met so many people to talk about our plans for improving the railway and to have received so many positive comments. We will continue to work closely with the local community to understand and address any concerns they might have.”