Hitchin is set to battle against Sandy as a corridor for a potential East West Rail Link, it was announced today.
The East West Rail consortium – which trimmed its initial shortlist of seven towns – will now decide whether the Hertfordshire market town is the best value for money for the project, compared to its Bedfordshire counterpart.
Ian Bates, chair of East West Rail consortium, said: “It is our long-held ambition to reinstate east-to-west train services benefitting individuals, communities and businesses all the way from East Anglia through Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and beyond.
“A decision on whether the Hitchin corridor is the chosen plan will be made by the end of the year, with the business case for the Initial Industry Plan set to be published in September 2016.”
Seven geographic corridors have been evaluated to establish the best value money including a train link between Bedford Central – Hitchin – Cambridge, with another proposed travelling from Luton – Stevenage – Hitchin – Cambridge.
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