East-West Rail (EWR) today announced the latest proposals for stations along the historic Marston Vale Line, which includes consolidating the current nine heritage stations into four larger modern stations.
The four new stations (which I have assurance from Government will be step free) will be based at Woburn Sands, Ridgmont (to the west of the M1), Lidlington, and Stewartby (adjacent to the proposed Universal Studios Theme Park).
I remain supportive in principle of the EWR project. Most constituents who have been in touch or responded to previous surveys (doorstep and online) have also said they are in principle supportive.
I view EWR as important infrastructure for long-term prosperity in our region, opening up opportunities for young people and future generations to world leading education and well paid jobs.
But as always, the devil is in the detail, and I haven’t yet read the whole report. The revised plans were published today and I would encourage anyone interested in, or affected by, EWR to send their thoughts to me via email, and to engage during the EWR consultation next year.
This morning, I spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio about some (and only some) of the issues I think people may have locally, including the impact on Ridgmont Station Heritage Centre and Tea Rooms, the future of level crossings given the frequency of trains has been revised upwards, and access to Kimberley College from a relocated station in Stewartby.
Over the coming months, I will be working closely with local councillors and launching a survey on my website to understand all views on these new plans, which I will feed into both EWR and Government Ministers.
The entire project of course needs to be funded adequately for it to be delivered fully, and in a reasonable timeframe, so I will also be listening closely to the budget next week.
Please do get in touch to have your say.
