East - West rail freight opportunities.

[pre65]

Freight has assumed a new and much higher priority in a bold new vision for the line currently under construction to connect the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge. Network Rail has laid out an enhanced vision for the line, calling the current project the core section, and looking to connect cities as far apart as Southampton and Cardiff in the south west with Norwich and Ipswich in the east. The new strategic statement shows the line as an ambitious opportunity to lead an axis of economic development far beyond its 65 route miles (104 km).

Full article here.

https://www.railfreight.com/railfrei...week%202022-15

[Beeyar Wunby]

Thanks Philip.

This line has been on the cards for quite a while.

I don't know how high it is on the railway's shopping list, but I do know that investment everywhere is being cut drastically due to financial damage of Covid.

Also I'm rather surprised by the talk of sharing the line between freight and passenger traffic. This can really throw the punctuality figures. Passenger traffic is supposed to hit their pathways within 120 seconds or so, whilst freight might be plus or minus 6 hours! Works OK if all the goods traffic runs between 01:00 and 06:00, but then there's no scope for engineering work.

Call me an old cynic, but this sounds more like wishful thinking rather than a fully thought-through plan.

Cheers, John