Every month I write an article for the Cambridge Independent which is later published on the Cambridge City Council website as my ‘Leader’s Blog’. In September I picked up on my long-term interest in railways and transport strategy.
If you remember the 1970s British Rail slogan “Let the train take the strain”, you may also recall that carriages were old and rattling and signal boxes were magnificent brick buildings by the side of the track. Things have changed a lot since then and, over the last decade in particular, regional railways have been quietly increasing their capacity and comfort while the network has been transformed by technology.
We can see the difference in Cambridge. Platforms have been lengthened across the network so train operators can run longer trains by adding extra carriages. In some cases they have doubled the length of the train, massively increasing passenger capacity. Alongside these physical changes, we have seen significant improvements to train schedules, steadily boosting the frequency of services connecting Cambridge with surrounding areas. And of course we have two new stations.
These visible changes have been made possible by essential work behind the scenes (read more).