Rail Updates

www.meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk

Reduction in Off-Peak Services

Due to low ridership, GTR have announced that from September, services at Meldreth, Shepreth and Foxton stations will need to be scaled back during off-peak times. Services will remain half-hourly during peak times and run hourly between 10.00am-3.00pm and after 8.00pm. The Cambridgeshire Student Connect card (the 50% 16-18 year-old student discount which is unique to our area) is protected, supporting the rail commute to sixth form colleges and training in Cambridge. The link is: https:// meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk/50-discount-on-season-tickets-forstudents. The challenge of regaining and retaining the all-day half-hourly service at this unprecedented time is very significant. Please do use the train when you have the choice and opportunity to do so, and help ridership to grow. At the end of the day, the service needs higher ridership in order to develop.

Meldreth Road, Shepreth Level Crossing Upgrade

Network Rail’s consultation last year on upgrading this level crossing, currently a half-barrier and proposed as a full barrier with a significantly longer waiting time, drew strenuous objections from local residents and groups, including the Meldreth Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership. These objections were supported by the County Council in its response to the consultation. The proposal is part of what’s called the C3R Cambridge Re-signalling Project. More information is available on our website: https:// meldrethsheprethfoxtonrail.org.uk/meldreth-road-level-crossing. A hard copy of the application and associated documents may be inspected at Cambridge Central Library until Friday 23rd September. No meaningful response was received to those objections and it appears that Network Rail is proposing to go forward with the upgrade, although a current ‘formal objection period’ is currently underway . We are working with the County Council to understand the options and how to register concern at the lack of response to previously lodged objections. At the time of writing this has yet to be clarified.

In the meantime, objections to, or other representations about, the proposals in the application should be sent to the Secretary of State for Transport c/o Transport Infrastructure Planning Unit, Department for Transport, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR or by email to transportinfrastructure@dft.gov.uk. The consultation closes on Friday 23rd September 2022. Please contact us if you’d like to join our mailing list and receive further information.

Breastfeeding Campaign Led by Meldreth Shepreth and Foxton Community Rail Partnership (CRP)

Enjoy this story about breastfeeding and public transport, which has been reported by multiple news outlets. Our CRP’s ‘Try the Train’ scheme was the catalyst. See: https://communityrail.org.uk/communityrail-partnership-leads-try-the-train-trip-in-support-of-breastfeedingcampaign.

Susan van de Ven and Sarah Grove sarahgrove.msfcrp@gmail.com

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