PHILIP SHERRATT analyses plans to complete the Western Section eastwards to Bedford and Milton Keynes
Completion of the Western Section of East West Rail has moved closer. The EWR Alliance, comprising Network Rail, Atkins, Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail, has submitted a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application seeking the necessary permissions to design, build and operate the line from Bicester and Aylesbury to Milton Keynes and Bedford.
The TWAO documents reveal significant detail about the scope of the project, how it will be constructed and how future operations may look. The project on the 78km route involves upgrading and reinstating existing and mothballed lines for passenger services. The plans also incorporate a new station at Winslow, new platforms at Bletchley and Aylesbury Vale Parkway and platform extensions at Woburn Sands and Ridgmont.
The work follows on from Phase 1 of the Western Section, which was completed in December 2016 and saw the Oxford to Bicester line upgraded, allowing Chiltern Railways to operate new direct services between Oxford and London Marylebone.
The Western Section forms part of the wider EWR project, which also envisages building a new railway eastwards from …
