East West Rail Company accused of ‘dog ate my homework excuses’

The East West Railway Company (EWR) has pledged to bring certainty over the route to Cambridge as soon as possible – but its comments have been branded as “dog ate my homework excuses”.

The railway company, which is developing the plans for the £5bn route, says it has been “refining” the proposals based on feedback from its 2021 consultation.

But Cambridgeshire County Council chair Cllr Stephen Ferguson suggested the company had “probably” decided the route but “just haven’t bothered communicating it to the affected communities”.

And he said on Twitter that EWR’s latest comments were “full of dog ate my homework excuses”.

Chief executive Beth West said in her final newsletter of the year: “The whole EWR team has worked hard this year reviewing the consultation responses and refining our proposals to take account of all the useful feedback we have received.

“We have also been focused on setting out the case for EWR to inform government decisions on the project.”

In November, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed that East West Rail will be “funded as promised” in the Autumn Statement. The route is already under way, but there have been question marks over whether the Bedford to Cambridge section would proceed as planned amid heated debate over the route.

Cambridge Approaches, a campaign group, argues there is a stronger case for the route to approach Cambridge from the north. Co-founder William Harrold has been calling for EWR to publish a business case to justify the southern route, but has yet to have a response.

Ms West added: “We are in the process of finalising our recommendations for consideration by government in the early part of 2023. Once that’s happened, we will then be able to respond formally to the consultation and update local communities on the route choice. I don’t have a confirmed date for that publication yet, but as soon I do I will let you know.

“The Chancellor’s commitment was great news for the businesses who needed certainty about EWR so they can crack on with their long-term investment plans. But for those people I’ve spoken to whose homes could be impacted by the railway, I know that certainty about the route choice is also critical, and the whole team here is focused on bringing that certainty as quickly as possible. My personal pledge as we close out the year is to work with government and the team to publish an update as soon as possible.”