UK: The Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, James Palmer, has announced ‘a powerful new partnership’ with Network Rail to develop proposals for the reopening of the Wisbech – March line in parallel with the project to increase capacity in the Ely area. A Wisbech – Cambridge service is envisaged.
On March 3 the Mayor said he would now ask the Combined Authority’s Transport & Infrastructure Committee to recommend the allocation of £300 000 from its medium-term financial plan to enable the next steps of planning. This would include reviewing documentation, options assessment, and developing timescales and cost estimates for the reopening. This process is expected to take around seven months, with the outcome to be presented at the November Transport & Infrastructure Committee and Combined Authority Board.
‘We’ve successfully demonstrated the good value and good sense of taking forward these plans in a considered, joined-up way where projects dovetail and methods of working are time-efficient and cost effective’, said Palmer. ‘This breakthrough partnership with Network Rail puts us inside the team, and everything can be aligned and streamlined, with no waste of resources, no doubling up, and no unnecessary delays to getting these projects working for people who’ve quite frankly waited long enough.’
