David Clarke’s East-West Rail notes
https://tinyurl.com/davids-east-west-rail-notes
I am sure you know by now that East-West Rail want to build a 2-track line on a 10m high embankment or viaduct just behind Baggot Hall Farm.
When complete, it would carry half-mile long diesel-hauled container trains at night, going to and from Felixstowe, as well as diesel passenger trains.
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The on-line version of this document has several more pages with with clickable links.
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Complete the questionnaire
Please complete the questionnaire from Harston East West Rail Action Group.
Go to www.tinyurl.com/ewrhq or drop the form at the Post Office, by Wednesday 26th May.
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Submit your response to the EWR ‘Consultation’
It’s time to tell East-West Rail what you think of their proposals.
Responses have to be in by Wed 9th June.
An email (or letter) is best - send to [email protected]
or you can use their online form at www.tinyurl.com/ewr-respond if you prefer.
* See below for some ideas which you might like to expand on.
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Write to your local representatives
Now the local elections are over and the results are in, it’s time to write to local politicians.
* See below for a list of possible points to include.
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor
Nik Johnson [email protected]
https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/
South Cambridgeshire District Council (Harston and Comberton)
Ian Sollom [email protected] 07722 065475
Tony Mason [email protected] 07432 779551
Fiona Whelan [email protected]
Bridget Smith [email protected] council leader
Dr. Aidan Van de Weyer [email protected] deputy council leader
https://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx
Cambridgeshire County Council (Sawston and Shelford)
Maria King [email protected] 07764 609061
Brian Milnes [email protected]
https://cambridgeshire.cmis.uk.com/ccc_live/Councillors.aspx
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Write to national politicians
It’s a numbers game - so please once you have composed a letter, please send a copy to some or all of these national politicians.
https://members.parliament.uk/
Your MP, Anthony Browne [email protected]
The more letters/emails he gets the better… Bear in mind that he also has constituents north of Cambridge, so will try to please everyone.
https://www.anthonybrowne.org/news/statement-east-west-rail
Boris Johnson [email protected] Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak [email protected] Chancellor of the Exchequer
Grant Shapps [email protected] Secretary of State for Transport
Chris Heaton-Harris [email protected] Minister of State (Transport)
George Eustice [email protected]
Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Victoria Prentis [email protected]
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Dept for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Robert Jenrick [email protected]
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Chris Pincher [email protected]
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government).
Steve Barclay [email protected] Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Sir Keir Starmer [email protected] Leader of the Opposition
Rachel Reeves [email protected]
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Ms Abena Oppong-Asare [email protected]
Shadow Exchequer Secretary (Treasury)
Bridget Phillipson [email protected]
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Jim McMahon [email protected]
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi [email protected]
Shadow Minister (Transport)
Luke Pollard [email protected]
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Stephanie Peacock [email protected]
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).
Lucy Powell [email protected]
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
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Points that you might like to put into an email or letter
Refusal by EWR give proper consideration to the northern route, which is favoured by CamBedRailRoad and well thought out by rail professionals.
Object to the line not being electrified from day one. The idea that it could be converted to run on hydrogen or batteries is fantasy. We’ll be stuck with diesel for decades.
Diesel emits CO2 and particulates. We should be moving away from carbon.
Object to refusal of EWR to consider running tracks in a trench to avoid severance and noise.
This is an established technique already used in UK, Netherlands and USA.
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No benefits whatsoever to Harston, Haslingfield and other villages.
Closeness to Harston and Newton Primary school.
Potential worsening of air quality, already bad from A10 traffic, caused by the huge embankment trapping polluted air near the village.
Severance of farmland and cutting off of the road from Harston to Newton. Loss of safe footpaths and routes to school.
All environmental bodies (BCN Wildlife trust, CPRE, woodland trust) support a northern approach
Line is intended to carry freight, but EWR will not consider this when describing the impact of the line. Even though EWR state they must make the line ‘freight capable’.
Running freight through the middle of Cambridge, at night, is integral to this scheme, even though EWR don’t consider it within their remit. This is an outrage.
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Lack of any economic case for building the line. EWR state that negligible passenger numbers would use the whole line. In effect the Cambridge end would be for the convenience of Cambourne residents wanting to get to Addenbrookes hospital.
In the light of recent announcements by Grant Shapps of cut-backs in rail funding, is this a wise way to splash public money around?
Northern route would go near to many proposed development areas, allowing the development of proper urban mass transit.
The southern route does not. As local transport it would be rubbish.
Southern route misses the science parks - one of the biggest employers.
Misses the Northstowe development (10k homes). Leaves just a busway that cannot cope now.
Why does the junction need to be in so tight to Harston and the Newton road? Moving it a bit further south would cost little, keep the road open and have less impact on Harston.
It would also avoid devaluing our houses.
Necessity of providing proper noise barriers from day one.
Vibration effects on Mullard radio astronomy site undefined, despite a spec from the university.
Lack of any details on compensation for loss of value to householders and farmers.
Lack of details on any mitigation or environmental measures.
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Campaign groups
Harston East West Rail Action Group
www.harstonvillage.uk/east-west-rail
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Harston Residents Group
are on Facebook and Twitter
web site: http://www.harstonvillage.uk/about-the-group
There is a robust blog article about East-West Rail.
http://www.harstonvillage.uk/blog/east-west-rail-consultation-2021
Very good presentation about how this affects Harston:
http://www.harstonvillage.uk/ewr-presentation
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Harston Parish Council
https://harstonparishcouncil.com/your-parish-council/
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Cambridge Approaches
Campaign group based in Haslingfield.
https://cambridgeapproaches.org/support-us/
GoFundMe page to fundraise for a judicial review:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-a-a-judicial-review-for-a-northern-approach
Contribute what you can afford!
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People in the city are probably unaware that the new line is intended to carry freight from Felixstowe via Cambridge.
It would run the freight trains right through the city, at night.
IF YOU HAVE FRIENDS IN THE CITY please tell them about these plans.
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If you have Facebook, you might want to join the
Harston and Newton families chat and discussion group,
which is lively and has traffic about East-West Rail.
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On-Line meetings
If you missed Anthony Browne’s on-line meeting about East-West Rail
On Wednesday 21st April, he has made a recording available.
Cambridge Approaches gave a good presentation and there was a lot of discussion, so if you have not been able to attend any meetings, this would be well worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaWJ4-y_whw
Over 60 people did manage to attend. If only EWR had sent a delegate!
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East-West Rail Consultation March-June 2021 Now!
https://eastwestrail.co.uk/
https://eastwestrail.co.uk/consultation
consultation doc:
https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/EAS060_ConDoc_310321_Digital_MASTER-1.pdf You can request a printed copy by calling 0330 1340067
technical report:
https://eastwestrail-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/Consultation-Technical-Report-Full.pdf Contains some details of what is proposed for Harston.
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Petitions
Please sign - and get all your family to sign too!