Bus diversions on Sunday 8 March

Because of the Cambridge Half Marathon, the needs of the travelling public will once again be very low down the list of priorities, both services B and D severely disrupted.

Here is what it says on Stagecoach’s website https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-updates/serviceupdatesarticle?SituationId=ID-05/03/2020-09:00:14:953 

Busway B
Both Directions
UNTIL 11:30

We will be unable to serve stops on Victoria Avenue, New Square and in the City Centre. During this time, our route towards the City Centre will end at Henry Giles House (Job Centre) on Chesterton Road, and journeys towards St Ives will begin at Mitcham's Corner (outside the Westbrook Centre) .

From 11:30 until 14:00
Journeys will now be able to serve Drummer Street Bus Station, but we will still be unable to serve Victoria Avenue and New Square in both directions. Passengers for these stops are advised to use Drummer Street Bus Station as an alternative.

Busway D
Towards St Ives
UNTIL 11:30

We will be unable to serve stops on New Square, Victoria Avenue, Mitchams Corner and all stops on Milton Road. During this time please use alternative stops located at Cambridge City Centre or at Cambridge Science Park.

From 11:30 until 14:00
We will be unable to serve stops on New Square, Victoria Avenue and Mitchams Corner. During this time please use alternative stops located at Cambridge City Centre or at Union Lane, Milton Road.

Towards Cambridge City Centre
UNTIL 11:30

We will be unable to serve stops on Mitcham's Corner, Victoria Avenue and New Square. During this time please use alternative stops located at Cambridge City Centre or at Union Lane, Milton Road.

From 11:30 until 14:00
We will be unable to serve stops on New Square and Victoria Avenue. During this time please use alternative stops located at Cambridge City Centre or at Mitcham's Corner

Additional Busway closure August 10-11

Not content with the summer-long closure of the Busway between Histon and Orchard Park, this coming weekend (August 10-11) sees the closure extended to the Science Park. This means that Stagecoach A and D services won't be able to serve the Orchard Park, CRC and Science Park stops. No alternative is being provided for Orchsrd Park passengers (other than the existing "diversion" stops that service B uses on Histon Road). Alternatives for the other stops are on Kings Hedges Road (near the CRC) and at the Golden Hind (for the Science Park).

Here's the Stagecoach announcement relating to this latest closure.

Busway extension to Cambridge Science Park Station

Work is in progress clearing the former railway track between Milton Road and Chesterton Junction. As the following photos show, there are piles of old railway sleepers.

They're also working on the opposite side of the road, where the busway emerges onto Milton Road. The buses have to make a rather sharp right hand turn out of the busway when heading towards Cambridge. A slice has been taken off the traffic island to ease the turn.

Broken ticket machines

Not sure how long this machine has been out of action, but I first noticed it a few days ago. I'm referring to the ticket machine at the Science Park stop on the busway. It's now boxed up like its mates at Histon and Swavesey. Those two have been out of action for the best part of a year. Isn't the Council going to fix them?

Science Park station - Busway lighting

The County Council has given details of the street lighting it's proposing for the Busway extension into the forthcoming Science Park railway station. Follow this link for more information.

Busway to the Science Park

As if to emphasise the rather vague definition of "busway", it seems that the extension to the Science Park may not be "guided", but simply a "bus only" road. A council spokesman is reported in the Cambridge News as saying "“No decision has been made on whether this section of the busway link will be guided or not." Meanwhile, some locals would clearly prefer that it weren't. The full Cambridge News story is to be found here.

Extension of guided busway to Cambridge Science Park Station

Cambridgeshire County Council is expected soon to approve construction of a 500-metre guided busway link between Milton Road and the new railway station at Chesterton on the northern edge of Cambridge.

The likely contractor is named in a Cambridge News article as Balfour Beatty, and construction of the track beams is likely to be on site, rather than brought in from elsewhere.

If the scheme proves too expensive, ' a road with guided entry and exit points to prevent trespass' may be built instead.

It is not clear from the article what provision is likely to be made for ordinary buses to serve the new station, nor indeed what specific bus routes may run.

From my perspective, as a St Ives resident, I am wondering if the existing bus routes A, B and C may be diverted to the new station - which would inevitably slow down their journey times. Or are some new routes being planned? What connections are planned between guided buses and the train, especially with regard to late night train arrivals from London? Up to now, evening guided bus connections at Huntingdon Station with trains from London have proved poor, and they do not run until late evening.

Extension of busway to new railway station at Chesterton

The planning application for the new railway station at Chesterton was published a few days ago by Cambridgeshire County Council. You can view it here.

It includes erection of a station building, platforms, footbridge, lifts, car and cycle parking, and new vehicle access from Cowley Road.

An extension of the guided busway  will be built from Milton Road to the new station.

Read Cambridge News article about the new railway station here.

New railway station for Cambridge

Approval has been given to build a new railway station  in north Cambridge near the Science Park at a cost of £26 million. See http://www.cambstimes.co.uk/news/mp_welcomes_26_million_rail_station_that_he_says_will_boost_east_cambs_and_fenland_1_1215678
The site is just north of where the St Ives railway joined the  main line and will presumably be connected to the guided busway. It is expected that over 3000 passengers a day will use the station.