A busy day in Parliament
Budget and Transport Committee: a busy day in Parliament
It was a busy day in Parliament on Wednesday (6 March), as EEH’s managing director Naomi Green gave evidence on East West Rail to the Transport Committee, just hours before the Chancellor's Budget gave the ‘green light’ for services from Oxford to Bedford to run by the end of the decade.
Naomi appeared as part of the committee’s inquiry into strategic transport objectives, with East West Rail being used as a case study.
Naomi told the committee East West Rail was vital to realising the region’s economic potential, powered by its globally-recognised science and technology clusters and universities. “But there are pressures in our region, on housing, on our impact on the environment, on land for businesses to grow, and productivity which is lower than the national average – all signs that there is a need for better connectivity.”
She added that the challenge was that transport appraisal techniques can appear ‘two-dimensional’ and not fully reflect the range of wider transformational benefits a scheme such as East West Rail will bring to towns and cities in the region.
The session also heard from Bedford Mayor Tom Wootton, who said while ‘East West Rail is a great idea’, his authority had significant concerns over the chosen route and the quality of engagement his residents had received.
The Chair of the Oxford to Cambridge Science Supercluster Board Dr Andy Williams said East West Rail will spread the opportunities of Oxford and Cambridge into a much wider region, provide access to a greater labour market and create an important ‘critical mass’ which also brings in other clusters such as around Cranfield and Motorsport Valley.
Following the meeting, Naomi said: "One of the things that came across from the panel was that East West Rail should not be seen as a 'housing growth' project driven by Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities. Rather, it is a project that puts Britain on the map, as a world leading science and innovation cluster, and as a great place to live, work and do business. The Treasury Growth Board for East West Rail has not, yet, engaged with local and regional partners. But it must. And it needs all aspects of Government, including the Departments for Education and Culture, Media and Sport, Environment and Science, Innovation and Technology involved if we are truly realise the opportunity of our region."
Shadow Rail Minister receives briefing on Ely
The Shadow Minister of State for Rail, Stephen Morgan MP, was briefed on the importance of delivering the Ely Junction improvement works during a visit to Cambridge last month.
Mr Morgan was joined by Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson and EEH managing director Naomi Green, alongside colleagues from Rail Freight Group, Freeport East and Network Rail.
The meeting was an opportunity to highlight the importance of delivering Ely - enabling more freight trains to travel between Felixstowe and the Midlands and North: boosting and levelling-up the economy; reducing the need for 100,000 lorry trips a year; and cutting congestion by 5.6 million hours a year.
In October, as part of the Network North proposals, the government announced funding to deliver Ely, with the focus now on ensuring preparatory work begins as soon as possible.
It was also noted during the meeting how England's Economic Heartland and Transport East, which worked together to promote the need for Ely, provide valuable consistency and clarity over regional transport priorities in their role as sub-national transport bodies.
EEH Board round-up: Friday 1 March
MRT funding ‘falling through gaps’
Our Strategic Transport Leadership Board agreed to write to government highlighting issues around funding to progress mass transit schemes.
MRT schemes can have many benefits over more traditional ‘heavy rail’ solutions, including cost, delivery timescales and flexibility – boosting economic growth and lowering congestion and emissions.
At a time when funding pressures on local authorities are well known, our partners in places such as Milton Keynes, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are making a significant investment in developing early business cases for MRT-type schemes. However, there is currently no clear path to securing investment to further progress these schemes under the current national funding streams, as MRT systems do not attract roads or rail funding.
The letter states: “In effect, for our region, funding for MRT is ‘falling through the gaps’ making progressing these vital interventions extremely challenging…We would strongly support and encourage the Department to consider a dedicated funding stream to support MRT development.”
EEH bus work on ‘leading edge’
The Board was delighted to be joined by Stephen Fidler, the director for local transport at DfT, who outlined the Department’s approach to bus travel.
Mr Fidler recognised EEH’s work to improve bus journeys in the region, stating that it ‘seems to me to be pretty much at the at the leading edge’ and ‘adding a great deal of value’.
Board members outlined their views on the challenges and opportunities for improving bus services in the region, which Mr Fidler said had been ‘very much noted and incredibly helpful’: “I think there's an open offer from us to keep engaging with you if you're having future bus conversations.”
Project lead Trevor Brennan outlined the progress on delivering work to improve bus journeys in the region, understand different operational models and develop an investable proposition for mobility hubs, as part of the ‘statement of intent’ agreed at our Bus Symposium last year.
Board backs EEH
The Board agreed to continue member authorities’ financial support for England’s Economic Heartland – and instructed EEH to start developing a five-year work plan from 2025-2030.
Reflecting ongoing pressures on local authorities, the contribution has been frozen at last year’s levels. Managing director Naomi Green thanked the Board for its support, which she said enabled EEH to remain locally-led and to leverage further significant funding from the Department for Transport.
EEH Chair Cllr Liz Leffman said EEH has had a ‘particularly successful year’ while Cllr Anna Smith, Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, added: “Well done for all the work that's happening, and I suspect you're going to hear a lot of us saying things like the bus symposium were really, really helpful and very positive. It's good to see EEH becoming something that's a really key player in such an important area of the work we do.”
East West Rail door-to-door strategy
The Board heard from Will Gallagher, East West Railway Company’s chief strategy and development officer, who provided information on their door-to-door strategy.
The Board agreed that the next phase of work should be developed as a collaboration with local authorities, who must receive the appropriate funding to ensure the strategy’s ambitions can be delivered.
East West Rail on track between Bicester and Bletchley
The final section of track has now been laid between Bicester and Bletchley, completing the first connection stage of East West Rail and paving the way for passenger services between Oxford and Milton Keynes to start from next year.
Huw Merriman, Rail Minister, said: "This is a significant milestone for one of the country’s most important rail projects and part of this Government’s plan to invest in rail infrastructure.
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“Having grown up in the area, I know just how much of a boost East West Rail will bring to local people. When complete, it will serve as a catalyst for economic growth in the region, bringing communities closer to job opportunities and education while making it easier to see friends and family.”
East West Rail Alliance (EWRA) began track construction in November 2021, following the completion of earthworks and the partial rebuild of Bletchley Flyover which enabled engineering trains to enter the site from the eastern and western fringes of the project.
East West Rail Alliance is on track to hand over the project to Network Rail later in 2024, with remaining work this year focusing on completing the installation of railway systems equipment, testing and commissioning, the construction of Winslow station car park, completion of Winslow station and landscaping. Passenger services are due to start from 2025.
The original case for East West Rail was put forward by the East West Main Line Partnership (previously known as the East West Rail Consortium), a grouping of local authorities and LEPs which was established in 1995.
STB conference and a spot of 'Ely Bingo'
The STB Conference took place late last month as part of the wider Interchange event in Manchester.
EEH Board Member representing Milton Keynes, Cllr Jennifer Wilson-Marklew (pictured) spoke about the opportunities of East West Rail for her city.
Meanwhile, Tim Bellamy, Assistant Director Transport, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, outlined the work of partners across and beyond the region in helping to promote Ely Junction - and the importance of its delivery.
Indeed, Ely was cited extensively throughout the day as an example of how sub-national transport bodies can work together to secure investment in infrastructure - one speaker even joked he'd been playing 'Ely Bingo' during the course of the conference.
In a video address, Rail Minister Huw Merriman told delegates that it was clear by bringing together local authorities, businesses and interest groups STBs are well placed to support government investment decisions.
"Your work is more important than ever," he added.
"Women are now valued for their insight and input and it is refreshing to see more and more women in senior management roles."
For International Women's Day 2024 we spoke to EEH Programme Manager, Suzanne Winkels about the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Suzanne reflected on how the transport sector has progressed throughout her career whilst highlighting that there is still further to go.
Hertfordshire County Council supports the development of world's first pothole preventing robot.
The ARRES PREVENT robot, developed in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, has passed its first road test outside of a lab. The robot uses state of the art imagining techology and Artifical Intelligence to characterise cracks, potholes and defects in the road. The defects are then automatically filled to prevent surface water entering and prevent potholes forming.
The robot has the potential to save time, money and reduce disruption as well as revolutionise the way potholes are dealt with.
Technology and Decarbonisation Minister, Anthony Browne MP, said: “This innovative technology has the potential to transform how we perform road maintenance and enhance the driver experience across Hertfordshire and beyond. It is said a stitch in time saves nine, and that prevention is better than cure - and likewise stopping cracks from growing into potholes could save a lot of future maintenance work."
Other news of interest:
National Networks National Policy Statement revised
The National Networks National Policy Statement (NNNPS) has been revised and laid before Parliament.
The NNNPS provides planning guidance for nationally significant road, rail and strategic rail freight interchange projects. It sets out the need for development of national significant projects and how applications for national network projects will be assessed.
It is reviewed to ensure the guidance is suitable to support the appropriate development of infrastructure. The revised statement is now subject to parliamentary consideration and debate and if approved will come into force.
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