COUNCIL CALLS FOR PROTECTION OF HOMES NORTH OF BEDFORD STATION
Bedford Borough Council have just revealed a technical report they recently commissioned from SLC Rail which purports to disprove the need for the 2 new discrete tracks to the north of Midland Road Station proposed by EWR Co in their current Consultation documentation.
BFARE welcomes any analysis on the impact of the railway and need for additional lines which informs residents on the impact of the proposed East West Rail.
However, BFARE are concerned that the report appears to fail to account for the specified requirement for infrastructure to accommodate:
- proposed additional 2 passenger services in each direction specified in the EWR Technical Report Annex B
- the addition of at least one freight path per hour
- a clock-face service
BRARE urgently request EWR provides some clarification and comments on the Bedford Borough Council press release, as it adds confusion to residents on the proposals for 6-tracking and our ability to respond to the consultation on an informed basis in a timely manner.
12 May 2021
Background
The EWR consultation runs to 9 June 2021
The EWR consultation documents highlight the need for 6 tracking to:
- avoid conflict with the East Midland and Thames Link traffic
- specifically include the future requirement to handle 2 further services per hour that are stipulated in Appendix B to the Consultation Technical Report which itself does include a place marker for future passenger service expansion.
- address foreseen capacity limitations of the existing 4-track MML infrastructure passing through Bedford Midland Road Station based upon the services expected to ply to and from the west which are extended to Cambridge once the line is complete (Section C)
End