Proposals for the ‘Varsity Line’ are gaining ground as MPs mount pressure to reinstate the railway line that connects Oxford to ‘The Other Place’.
Half a century ago, students could catch the ‘brain line’, a railway line which connected Oxford and Cambridge. However, this service was axed in 1967. Since then, rising rail passenger numbers, traffic congestion and economic growth in the region have led to increasing calls for better links between East and West and the reopening of the line.
At the moment, many rail passengers have to go into London and then out again to reach Cambridge and East Anglia, while coach passengers complain of an uncomfortable journey of over three hours, and motorists face heavy traffic.
The East West Rail project, which includes Oxford City Council, has been campaigning for the reopening of the Varsity line. Ian Stewart, MP for Milton Keynes, told Parliament at an adjournment debate on Tuesday that the line would be “good for business and economic growth, good for the environment and good for the nation’s wider strategic transport aspirations.’
He added, ‘At a time when everyone is shouting for more growth in the economy, this project would provide a rail link to an economic corridor in the country which is at the cutting edge of the UK’s economy.” Andrew Smith, MP for Oxford East, also attended the debate in support of the project.
Almost as soon as it was shut, there has been a campaign to reopen the line, but Tuesday’s debate showed that the campaign was closer to realisation than ever, with the Secretary of State for Transport Teresa Villiers stating that the project was under “serious consideration.” It now remains to be seen whether the project is included in the government’s plans for the industry, which will be set out in the High Level Output Specification in the summer.
Reopening the western extension of the line and connecting Oxford all the way to Bedford is considered by many to be feasible, as the line still exists, and parts of it are still used for freight. Stewart told Parliament that “it is a ‘no-brainer’ and, with a fair wind, trains could be running by 2017.”
However, Julian Huppert, MP for Cambridge, told Cherwell, “progress is slow. The first step will be to link to Milton Keynes and it could take a number of years before the line between Cambridge and Bedford is open.”
East of Bedford the track has been removed and a reservoir and two housing developments block the old route. Alternative routes could solve the problem but it may be many years before the issues are resolved and Oxford students are able to jump on a train to Cambridge.
Despite this, Tom Fleming, an undergraduate at Hertford College, welcomed the opportunities this presented, saying, “I think High Speed Rail 2 has shown us just how many hilarious old women end up on the news when you propose running new railway lines through people’s gardens, so I’m wholly in favour.”
Striking a more sober note, Nick Seaford, a student at St John’s college, told Cherwell, “in times ofgovernment financial austerity, with unemployment far worse in the regions, I think that spending billions on another rail link in the South-East would be an obscene waste of resources, unless it could be totally privately financed.”
However, the East West Rail Consortium puts the estimated capital cost is £250m (with a potential for private sector involvement), and a report from Oxford Economics in July put the return on investment at 6:1, with 12,000 jobs potentially being created across the region. The aim is to strengthen and connect areas which are already economic centres, and the hope is that the line would pay for itself within 6 years.
Reactions from Oxbridge students have been mixed. Cambridge student Tamsin Lim was able to see the upside, commenting, “if I’m going to go to the Other Place, I want to do it as quickly and humanly as possible” and praised the advantages for “those friends willing to cross the great Cambridge-Oxford divide.”
However, Jane Cahill of Queens College, whose twin studies at Cambridge, commented, “I find it hard enough to keep my sister away from me as it is”, while Somerville student Becca Schofield worried, “we might get a transfer of the Tab Lurgy.”
