Hitchin flyover

Hitchin - stations

Hitchin is at the heart of an increasingly popular railway on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland, it marks the point at which the line divides towards Letchworth and Cambridge.

The decade has seen a 35% increase in passengers travelling between Peterborough and London and an 18% increase in journeys between London and Cambridge. In the past ten years, the amount of freight carried by rail nationally has increased by a massive 60%.

Cambridge Junction, north of Hitchin station, is one of the key bottle necks on the line and so we are creating a new main link between the East Coast Main Line and Cambridge which will help to:

  • create extra capacity to run more services to and from London every hour
  • reduce delays to train services by nearly 30,000 minutes every year, making the railway more punctual and reliable
  • Keep the railway open when essential maintenance is needed, by keeping one link between Hitchin and Cambridge open, whilst the other is being worked on

By taking the line to Cambridge over the East Coast Main Line rather than across it, trains from Hitchin to Cambridge no longer have to cross three other lines. Thus increasing capacity for other services and making the railway more reliable if delays occur.

Hitchin aerial schematic        Hitchin - the proposed solution        Hitchin - viaduct flyover

Building considerately

Hitchin - before and afterWe have thought carefully about how to make sure the new line is as low profile as possible – a mixture of embankment and viaduct. As our plans have evolved we have tried to reduce the amount of material brought to site by increasing the length of the viaduct. However, a large amount of material will need to be brought to site by lorry. Network Rail is committed to building considerately and will do everything we can to keep disruption from this work to a minimum.

With this in mind, our current proposals include a plan to build an access road to the site to separate our construction traffic from Hitchin and Letchworth town centres. We plan to use the A507 to reach the site, with access planned to be taken from Stotfold Road, just north of the railway bridge.

Network Rail runs a 24 hour helpline on 08457 114141 and once construction is underway a team of regional community relations advisors and a manager covering the area will be able to respond to any concerns.