Residents are invited to take part in the public consultation on 5 East West rail route options between Bedford & Cambridge. You will note two of the options include a new station at Tempsford – routes 8 & 9.
East West Rail say routes 1 & 9 are the “emerging preferred routes”.
The consultation runs until 9/6/21. Here is where you can take part:
The emerging preferred routes (1&9) seem broadly similar in terms of impact on Blunham, which from what we can establish, appears limited.
Both follow a similar route from Bedford across to Cambridge. Route 1 travels across just north of Wilden & Roxton to a new station at St Neots, so is slightly further away from Blunham. Route 9 travels south of Wilden & Roxton to a new station at Tempsford.
Whether overnight freight trains will be heard in the distance is unknown.
From a Blunham perspective the key difference seems to be that Route 9 has a railway station at Tempsford. Some residents may find this beneficial, but others may be concerned about any traffic impacts. On the other hand, Route 1 is slightly further away, so may be less likely to be heard.
Here are maps of the 5 routes – remember 1 & 9 are the “emerging preferences”:
Route-Alignment-8-section-between-Clapham-Green-and-Tempsford-Option-B-station (1)
Route-Alignment-1-section-between-Clapham-Green-and-St-Neots-South-Option-A-station
Route-Alignment-2-section-between-Clapham-Green-and-St-Neots-South-Option-A-station
Route-Alignment-6-section-between-Clapham-Green-and-St-Neots-South-Option-B-station
Route-Alignment-9-section-between-Clapham-Green-and-Tempsford-Option-A-station