The Aylesbury-Milton Keynes link is an integral part of the East West Rail scheme and was expected to be delivered alongside construction of the line between Oxford, Winslow and Milton Keynes, which opens later this year.
EEH, in conjunction with Buckinghamshire Council and the East West Main Line Partnership, has produced a report which shows how the link also makes possible the opportunity of a wider rail corridor between Northampton, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Old Oak Common, which includes frequent and rapid connectivity to Heathrow Airport and Reading.
The link remains critical for boosting economic growth and job opportunities, and providing a realistic alternative to the car – particularly in Aylesbury, one of the worst congested towns in the country.
EEH's Spending Review submission to Government states that failure to deliver the Aylesbury-Milton Keynes link has meant large scale housing earmarked within the local plan process has been built without the infrastructure which had been expected to support it, resulting in a ‘lack of trust from the public that Government can support housing delivery in the way it is needed’.
Economic analysis by Cambridge Econometrics shows that in the catchments of stations along the wider rail corridor between Northampton and south Bucks there is a population of 1.3 million, 78,000 businesses generating 678,000 jobs, and an economy worth more than £50bn. The corridor has strengths in knowledge-intensive sectors identified by Government as crucial to the UK’s economic success, including advanced physics and engineering; space; digital and AI; creative industries and life sciences – which would be further boosted by better connectivity.
Global Britain: Rail highlights the economic case for the link and wider corridor. It also includes support for the proposals from MPs, business groups and neighbouring councils.