There are new hopes that funds could be found to rebuild the East-West rail link between Oxford and Cambridge.
The stretch between Oxford and Bedford is favourite to get the go-ahead first but now Railfuture has been told a new £1billion transport and infrastructure fund may be set up by the East of England Development Agency.
Railfuture has already met EEDA to ask for the crucial rail scheme to be helped by the fund if it is set up next year.
Railfuture has asked for a planned Network Rail flyover at Hitchin – designed to speed up services from London to Cambridge and the East Coast main line as part of the Thameslink programme – to be built with "passive provision" to allow the flyover to be used by East-West trains from Bedford.
The East-West rail link could be crucial for the Government's plans to build new eco towns, one of which is at Marston near Bedford and is variously described as Marston Vale or New Marston.
Railfuture believes that any eco towns should have a good passenger rail service and have a high percentage of its freight delivered by rail.
Others close to the East-West Rail route are Weston Otmoor, Oxfordshire, and Elsenham near Stansted, Essex.
Following the Government's go-ahead for a tram-train experiment in Yorkshire, Railfuture also believes that tram-trains could be the basis for local public transport networks in many towns and cities and also in any new eco towns.
Railfuture believes East-West Rail should provide a fast, limited-stop express train service between Oxford and Cambridge, while tram-train could provide the intermediate local services and serve the eco towns.
East-West Rail is also likely to be a major freight artery providing routes from Southampton, helping to link the Great Western, West Coast Midland, and East Coast main lines, as well as more options for rail traffic to and from the east coast ports, including Felixstowe.
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