East West Rail boss will 'never convince everyone' project will work
It comes as new stations and more trains are planned
The man in charge of delivering East West Rail (EWR) says he's not going to please everyone in Cambridgeshire when it comes to the project.
New stations and more trains are being planned along the route between Cambridge and Oxford to serve the Universal theme park near Bedford.
"We've got more work to do over the coming years to make the case for the railway," David Hughes, CEO at EWR, said.
"We'll never convince everyone, but we want to work with communities along the route to make sure we deliver this in the best possible way."
The latest details are part of a consultation set up by EWR on the project, before a Development Consent Order application to build the railway is submitted in 2027.
The scheme is set to cost between £5-7bn to build, with the full railway line due to open in the mid to late 2030s.
EWR will 'boost business confidence'
"East West Rail will greatly improve connectivity between Oxford, Cambridge and the towns in between," Dr Andy Williams, chair of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, said.
"It will boost business confidence in the region, providing opportunities to expand to other locations along the route, such as Bedford and Milton Keynes, and connecting a region of 3.5 million people ready to compete with other global superclusters like Silicon Valley.”
But although to some, the plans for EWR are hard to support, Mr Hughes
"Why are the Treasury keen to back this project? Because they see it is transformative for the regional economy and the economy in this corridor between Oxford and Cambridge is critical for the future prosperity of the UK," he added.
A consultation on the latest plans in locations along the roue will take place until June 9.