The complete East West Rail Link project aims to provide new and upgraded railway infrastructure between Oxford and Cambridge to facilitate the operation of a network of new passenger services between eastern and western England and between intermediate towns and cities on the route without the need to travel via London.

In the longer term DfT Rail Group have an aspiration to increase the potential for freight movements along the re-opened east west rail link utilising capacity on the Midland Main Line and reducing and ultimately removing freight movements from the West Coast Main Line.

The East West Rail Link - Western Section scheme is concentrated on the section of the route west of Bedford and involves the creation of a network of railway routes and train services linking Milton Keynes to Oxford, Aylesbury and Bedford by utilising a number of lightly used and disused railway corridors.

Development Stage

GRIP (Guidance to Railway Investment Projects) Stage 4 started.

Start Date

The project started in 2008.

Completion Date

Outline design 31 December 2009

Developer

Milton Keynes Partnership and East West Rail Consortium.

News and Updates

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Press Releases

8 June 2010
East West Rail business plan reveals strong business case for the project
The East West Rail (EWR) Consortium has completed its latest stage of development work on the western section of the project. The business case and detailed engineering design work (known as ‘GRIP 4’) is now complete and has revealed an exceptionally strong case for the project.

15 January 2010
Welcome announcement of new London to Oxford rail route
The East West Rail Consortium welcomes the official launch of Chiltern Railway’s Evergreen 3 project by The Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis on Friday 15 January. The project will improve commuter journeys and help boost the economy.

28 October 2009
Site investigation continues on East West Rail
Outline design work continues apace on the western section of East West Rail with additional site investigation starting this month. The work will include excavating trial trenches along the route and making a number of boreholes to help engineers understand the condition of the ground before designing any necessary ground improvements.

16 January 2009
Clearing the way for East-West Rail design
Around 20 kilometres of disused railway line between Bletchley and Claydon Junction stations will be cleared of scrub, brambles and overgrown vegetation so that survey and investigation work can be carried out for the design development phase of the East-West Rail project.

18 December 2008
Work starts to complete design for East-West Rail
Milton Keynes Partnership (MKP) and the East-West Rail Consortium (EWRC) have commissioned work to complete the design for the western section of East-West Rail. Known as Guidance on Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) 4, this project will include a fully developed operating and business case and will be completed by December 2009.

10 November 2008
Agreement with Chiltern Railways puts East-West Rail scheme on track
Milton Keynes Partnership (MKP), the East-West Rail Consortium and Chiltern Railways have signed an agreement that will allow work on the East-West Rail link to be progressed alongside the new London Marylebone to Oxford route that Chiltern Railways proposes to open in 2012 - 2013.

29 February 2008
New report confirms strong business case for East West Rail
A new report, commissioned and funded by Milton Keynes Partnership on behalf of the East West Rail Consortium, has confirmed that there is a strong business and operating case for a new network of railway lines and train services linking Milton Keynes to Oxford, Aylesbury and Bedford by 2012.

10 July 2007
East-West Rail gets a step closer
A new network of railway lines and train services linking Milton Keynes to Oxford, Aylesbury and Bedford moved step closer to reality today as National Regeneration Agency English Partnerships announced that is has appointed consultants to develop the operating and business case for the western section of the East West Rail Project.

Last updated: 9 February 2009

Committee and Stakeholder Group meetings

Dates of the next committee and stakeholder group meetings can be found in the Diary.

Discharge of Planning Conditions - Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The above legislation introduced new charges for the discharge of conditions attached to planning permissions. MKP will be introducing these charges from 1 September 2010.

Local Investment Plan 2010 refresh now available to download

The document explains how we work together with other organisations to deliver housing and employment growth in the new city

Affordable housing gets a boost in Stony Stratford

A housing development in the historic market town of Stony Stratford has been given a funding boost to provide 13 affordable homes.