Plans include a new section of railway between Bedford and Cambridge, including building new stations at Tempsford and Cambourne, and upgrades to the existing railway between Oxford and Bedford.

Bowing to pressure to reduce the project’s environmental impact two tunnels are now proposed for the new stretch of railway in Cambridgeshire.

Design engineers have also worked to reduce costs and have removed or reduced the height of embankments and viaducts for
over half the route between Bedford and Cambridge.

The cost of the project has now risen from a previous upper estimate of £5.3bn to £6bn. Of the total around £3bn will be direct construction cost.

• New stations for Cambourne and Tempsford
• Upgrades at Cambridge station. These would include two new railway tracks next to the West Anglia Main Line from Shepreth Junction to Cambridge Station, a new platform, platform extensions, footbridges, and building upgrades.
• A cut and cover tunnel beneath the A428 and Bourn Airfield development
• A 700m tunnel through Chapel Hill near Haslingfield to avoid constructing a large cutting, which could affect the flight paths of local Barbastelle bats.
• Green traction power in the form of discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains, to reduce carbon emissions and reduce disruption during construction.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the scheme would create “more than £6bn in economic growth”, 28,000 new jobs and tens of thousands of new homes.

“Today marks a major milestone for the project as we encourage communities to have their say on this transformational line that will offer so much more than simply getting people from A to B,” she added.