East West Rail joins Milton Keynes’ MPs in giving thumbs-up to extra £2.5billion funding
East West Rail has welcomed an additional £2.5 billion funding announced in this week’s Government Spending Review.
East West Rail aims to establish a new main line railway between Cambridge and Oxford via a number of stops including Milton Keynes.
Support for East West Rail is high with over 70per cent of residents surveyed in early 2022 supporting a public transport connection between Oxford and Cambridge.
Reasons given include access to jobs, education and vital public services. The scheme is also supported by local authorities and major employers in the region along and the city’s MPs.
Natalie Wheble, External Affairs Director, East West Railway Company, said: “We are delighted that the Chancellor has reaffirmed the Government’s support for East West Rail by announcing the latest funding allocation for the project.
"East West Rail will transform connectivity across the region and improve access to jobs, housing, education and healthcare.
Making the announcement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I’ve heard the representations of my honourable friends the Members for Milton Keynes North, Milton Keynes Central and Buckingham and Bletchley, and I can tell the House today to connect Oxford and Cambridge and to back Milton Keynes’s leading tech sector, I am providing a further two and a half billion pounds for the continued delivery of East West Rail.”
> East West Railway Company carried out a non-statutory consultation on proposals for a new rail link to connect communities between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge.
The third non-statutory consultation which ended in January, will be followed by a statutory consultation ahead of submission of a development consent order application which will seek necessary consent for the scheme.