Rail link boost will boost local economy, claim bosses
A REVIVED rail link from Bedford to Oxford will boost the local economy, help the environment and assist local tourism, it was claimed this week.
Last month the government gave the green light to the western section of East West Rail Link, which will travel between Bedford and Oxford.
And the East West Rail (EWR) Consortium has predicted that the £400million investment will have a significant and lasting affect, potentially generating more than £38million a year for the economy once it opens in 2017.
Consortium chairman Peter Hardy said: “The railway also opens up more inter-county job opportunities, for example giving people from Oxford and Bicester public transport access they didn’t have before to jobs in Milton Keynes.
“What’s more, add the rail link to Heathrow from the west, proposed by 2021 and access to one of the world’s busiest airports will be much easier. Now this has to be good for our residents, great for the local economy and much more attractive to businesses.”
The East-West rail link would link up with the current Marston Vale line from Bedford to Bletchley.
This line once ran from Oxford to Cambridge and was known as the ‘Varsity Line’ until it was shortened in 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe.
Services currently run from Oxford to Cambridge on the Stagecoach X5 bus service.
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Weather for Bedford
Sunday 19 May 2013
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