East West Rail
How the East West Rail project will make travel across Britain easier
The East West Rail scheme will re-establish a rail link between Cambridge and Oxford to improve connections between East Anglia and central, southern and western England.
The case for East West Rail
The Oxford–Cambridge region is one of the UK’s most productive areas, generating over £143 billion a year and supporting around two million jobs, many in high‑skill industries. With world‑leading universities and major research centres, it’s a hub for innovation and investment.
But the region’s potential is held back by poor east–west transport links. Many rail journeys require travelling via London, roads are congested, and connections between key towns and cities are slow.
East West Rail would provide a direct link between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge, making journeys faster and more convenient, improving access to jobs and services, and helping the region continue to grow.
Services will be introduced in three “Connection Stages”
- Connection Stage One: Services will run from Oxford to Bletchley/Milton Keynes
- Connection Stage Two: Building on the work completed in Connection Stage One, services will extend from Oxford to Bedford
- Connection Stage three: This stage completes the full East West Rail connection, and will see services run from Oxford to Cambridge via Bedford and Bletchley.
By delivering the project in this way, we can create real benefits:
- Minimise disruption for local communities – we are looking to find the best way to reduce the length and severity of disruption for local communities
- Deliver the best value for taxpayers – by properly integrating the whole railway all the way from planning to operations we will find efficiencies and cost saving for the taxpayer
- Increase reliability of our services – the project is about more than just laying down steel and concrete: we’re thinking about how timetables and connections with other parts of the rail network will impact your journeys, so we can be confident of delivering reliable services from day one.
Connection Stage one
Construction on Connection Stage One (CS1) was completed in 2024 to introduce services from Bicester to Bletchley.
The work that commenced in 2021 included:
- New Bletchley High Level platforms
- New station with parking facilities at Winslow
- 70km of new track and drainage
- Installation of a new signalling and telecoms system
- 5 new overbridges
- 12 new footbridge
- 5 bridges with new decks
- 22 refurbished bridges
- 130km of new fencing
- The rebuilding of the Bletchley flyover, which carries the line over the West Coast main line
Testing and training is now underway on the line for passenger services to start as soon as possible. Work is also taking place to ensure that local residents are aware that the railway is now operational. Safety teams are visiting schools to give talks to children on railway safety and letters have been issued to neighbours.
Connection Stage two
The next phase of the project is Connection Stage Two (CS2) which is an upgrade of the Marston Vale line between Bletchley and Bedford creating an hourly Oxford to Bedford service by 2030.
CS2 will involve work on level crossings, track and signalling improvements as well as safety and accessibility upgrades.
Connection Stage three
This stage will complete the final section of East West Rail, enabling direct services to run all the way between Oxford and Cambridge via Bletchley and Bedford.