23.11.16
Hammond accelerates £100m East West Rail funding
The delayed East West Rail project received a boost in today’s Autumn Statement, as chancellor Philip Hammond announced £100m of funding to ensure the project’s delivery.
The project, a planned rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, was originally due to be finished in 2017, but was delayed until 2019 and then pushed back to CP6 following the Hendy Review.
In August, Cllr Rodney Rose, chair of the East West Rail Consortium, told RTM that East West Rail was ‘no longer’ the third most important rail project in the country after HS2 and Crossrail.
However, in a speech at the County Councils Network conference, transport secretary Chris Grayling confirmed that the government would continue to support the project.
The National Infrastructure Commission then published a report into the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor, which called it ‘a national asset’ and urged the government to bring forward £100m to ensure the Western Section is completed before the end of CP6.
Hammond confirmed today that the government will provide the accelerated funding, and also announced £10m in development funding for the central section.
The chancellor said the project was “more than just a transport link” and could become a “transformational tech-corridor” between the two university towns.
There were no new updates on Crossrail 2 or HS2, but the government confirmed that it expects construction on HS2 Phase 1 to start next year, and said it was “looking forward” to the business case for Crossrail 2.
(Image c. PA)
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