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On 9 January 2026 East West Rail Company Limited (EWR) announced that a number of Design Update Sessions would be held throughout early 2026 outlining the key design changes from the ‘You Said, We Did’ report. A list of the events and their locations are below:
| Date | Time | Location |
| Wednesday 28 January 2026 | 2pm-7pm |
South Central Institute of Technology, Selwyn Grove, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK3 6DR |
| Saturday 31 January 2026 | 12pm-5pm |
Queensway Methodist Church, Queensway, Fenny Stratford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2HB |
| Thursday 12 February 2026 | 3pm-8pm |
Cauldwell Community Centre, Althorpe Street, Bedford MK42 9HF |
| Saturday 14 February 2026 | 12pm-5pm | Queens Park Community Centre, Marlborough Road, Bedford, MK40 4LF |
| Friday 27 February 2026 | 2pm-7pm |
Kingsmere Community Centre, Whitelands Way, Bicester OX26 1EG |
| Saturday 28 February 2026 | 12pm-5pm |
Bicester Methodist Church, Bell Lane, Bicester OX26 6JQ (Please enter through the doors off Victoria Road) |
| Thursday 5 March 2026 | 2pm-7pm |
St Andrew’s Church, Cherry Hinton, Coldhams Lane, Cambridge CB1 3JS |
| Saturday 7 March 2026 | 12pm-5pm |
St Thomas's Hall, 17 Ancaster Way, Cambridge, CB1 3TT |
| Saturday 14 March 2026 | 12pm-5pm | Hauxton Centre, Church Road, Hauxton, Cambridge, CB22 5HS |
On 19 November 2025 East West Rail Company Limited (EWR) released their ‘You Said, We Did’ report. This was was in response to their Non-Statutory Consultation held from 14 November 2025 to 24 January 2025. The report outlines the changes made based upon feedback from the consultation. View the document at East West Rail | You Said We Did.
Overview
East West Railway Company Limited (EWR) is proposing a Development Consent Order (DCO) for a new railway line between Bedford Station and Cambridge Station as well as other associated works to the railway network, which will be determined by the Secretary of State for Transport. The project will cover various electoral divisions across Cambridgeshire, particularly in the City of Cambridge, South Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire.
The East West Rail project is formed of the following sections:
Western - Oxford to Bedford
Upgrades to existing railway between Oxford and Bicester. Reinstating a railway between Bicester and Bletchley. Refurbishing existing railway between Bletchley and Bedford. This section is currently in progress.
Central Section - Bedford to Cambridge
Brand new railway infrastructure. In development by EWR and the section that will be included in this DCO.
Eastern Section - Cambridge to Norwich and Ipswich
This is still in early development and not currently part of the EWR work – this is likely to be upgrades to existing rail infrastructure.
The project falls into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) process defined through the Planning Act 2008 (as amended), and will be considered under Part 3 Section 25 of the legislation because the proposed railway will be constructed wholly in England, be part of network approved operators route, is of a continuous route of more than 2 kilometres, and is not on operational land of a railway undertaker before construction work begins (see section 25(1) of the 2008 Act).
Responsibility for accepting and examining the NSIP application rests with the Secretary of State and not the local authorities, who are identified as statutory consultees, or ‘host’ authorities, in the NSIP process.
There are five ‘host’ authorities, in the central section, (Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and Bedford Borough Council) involved in this NSIP project. All five ‘host’ planning authorities intend to work together as far as possible to ensure full scrutiny of this project is undertaken.
Have your say
It is important to note that as the ‘host’ planning authorities are not the determining authorities. Any correspondence in relation to this matter needs to be directed to East West Railway Company Limited in the first instance and then the Planning Inspectorate.
For further details of the NSIP process for this project, please visit the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) website.
East West Rail - Bedford to Cambridge and Western Improvements proposals, including any consultation events being held, are available on the East West Rail website.
Consultation
The project is currently at the pre-application stage. East West Rail (EWR) held their non-statutory consultation from 14 November 2024 to 24 January 2025. More information can be found by visiting East West Rail Consultation 2024.
Public consultation: EWR are planning a consultation for 2026, giving stakeholders and communities the opportunity to provide feedback before the Development Consent Order (DCO) submission.
More information can also be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s webpage for this project.
