Agenda item

The Committee will receive an update on the East West Rail project.

Contributors:

East West Rail Alliance

Mark Cuzner, Director

Mark James, Deputy Director

East West Rail Company

Will Gallagher, Strategy Director

Network Rail

Peter Hume, Senior Programme Manager

Buckinghamshire Council

Cllr Steven Broadbent, Cabinet Member for Transport

Cllr Peter Martin, Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport – HS2/East West Rail

Richard Lumley, Service Director for Strategic Transport & Infrastructure

Dr Laura Leech, Head of Major Projects

Gavin Jones, East West Rail Team Lead

The Chairman welcomed Mark Cuzner, Mark James (East West Rail Alliance) and Peter Hume (Network Rail) to the meeting and invited the Deputy Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Peter Martin, to introduce the item. The Deputy Cabinet Member highlighted that East West Rail would bring a station at Winslow would which benefit residents. East West Rail was one of two major infrastructure projects in Buckinghamshire, the other being HS2, and project crossovers had caused disruption and concerns for residents. The Council was working with East West Rail to mitigate the impact in the community and sought to develop the long-term benefits of the project.

In the presentation delivered by Mark Cuzner, Mark James and Peter Hume, the following points were noted:-

·       East West Rail Alliance was a group made up of Laing O’Rourke, Atkins, Volker Rail and Network Rail. This group was focused on the delivery of the construction between Bicester and Bletchley. East West Rail Company oversaw the entire East West Rail programme.

·       The Alliance appreciated the disruption the project caused residents and businesses and apologized for this impact.

·       It was expected that most of the civil works would be completed by the third quarter 2022 which included earth, bridge and station work. This meant that traffic on the highway should diminish as materials would be delivered via rail.

·       The Alliance’s ‘infrastructure ready’ date of May 2024 was on track for delivery.

·       The completion and handover of Jarvis Lane footbridge in September 2021 was the first of five new footbridges to be delivered.

·       The public had been engaged through activities such as an engagement day at B3 compound (located near Winslow) where 240 people attended. Greg Smith MP had also visited the site in 2021. The Alliance intended to continue community engagement over the next two years.

·       The Alliance was on target to deliver its commitment to a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain. This involved restoring habitats along the construction routes between Bicester, Bletchley and Milton Keynes.

The following points were raised during the Committee discussion:-

·       The aim was for the service line to go live in December 2024. This was to allow 7-8 months of testing phases after the infrastructure ready date of May 2024.

·       The use of diesel rolling stock would be a temporary situation whilst wider consultation took place on the line’s power solutions however there was no anticipated end date for the usage of diesel trains. Net carbon was expected to be a part of a future solution. Consideration of overhead electrification of the Bicester – Bletchley route had been given during the feasibility stage of the project however Government felt this was unnecessary. The Alliance took measures to accommodate future overhead electrification measures such as rebuilding bridges to a height that would not impede retrofitting pylons.

·       The timescale for the delivery of the 10% Biodiversity Net Gain would be circulated after the meeting. Arrangements to manage the site areas after 2024 also needed to be considered.

Action: The Alliance

·       Although the project intended to retain vegetation, trees had been removed as part of the works. Over 150,000 trees of differing maturity had been planted by the Alliance. The number of trees removed would be checked and circulated to the committee.

Action: The Alliance

·       The Alliance had no requirement to measure its carbon emissions but had commenced work to ascertain this. Details on this would be circulated.

Action: The Alliance

·       Members were concerned that the Aylesbury link to East West Rail would not take place as the link would support connectivity and sustainable transport whilst relieving pressures on the highways. It was noted that housing allocation numbers had also taken the existence of the link into account.  The Alliance acknowledged the benefits of the link and continued operating to keep this option available until a decision was made by the Department for Transport. The Council’s last correspondence on this was in June 2021 and the Chairman encouraged all organisations in support of the Aylesbury link to work together in lobbying Government for its inclusion in the project.

·       Highways work was split into three categories:

1.      New highways on overbridges.

2.      Mitigation of construction traffic (e.g. through junction modification and passing bays).

3.      Improvements and repairs to the existing roads due to construction. 

There were examples where previous repair work needed to be re-visited by the Alliance.

·       Wheel washing facilities were located at each site which was supplemented by wheel cleaning. Complaints of mud on the road had been due to some suppliers not following the washing procedure in place when leaving the site combined by poor weather conditions. The Alliance was responsible for this and sought to improve performance by responding to complaints more quickly.

·       Compound A3 at Marsh Gibbon was now largely demobilised as the structural work had been completed. The wheel washing station had been decommissioned however manual wheel washing still took place along with an hourly sweep and brush route.

·       The two marshals recruited by the Council monitored impacts of the project so that issues could be resolved as soon as possible. The Alliance had traffic ambassadors who monitored driver behaviour and road conditions, and reported preventative and/or recovery work.

·       All train stations would be compliant in accessibility criteria.

The Chairman thanked the representatives from East West Rail for their attendance and welcomed a future update on the project next year.