Update on dispute between Cambridgeshire County Council and BAM Nuttall

See the Cambridge News website here for an update on the dispute between the County Council and the contractor. The Council has now gone to mediation in an attempt to  bring the dispute to a close. The Council is looking to reclaim the £61million it believes it is owed by the contractor. This includes  penalties for late completion of the project and the cost of remedial works that were found necessary after the busway was handed over to the Council. Also reported in the Hunts Post (22 May, page 5)

Busway information on Scania website

Scania is a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses, and marine and industrial engines. Some of their equipment runs on the Cambridgeshire busway, and an informative article with several photos appeared on their website recently. Link to Scania Newsroom page here.

Queen and Duke of Edinburgh travel by guided bus

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh today travelled form Cambridge Railway Station to Addenbrooke's Hospital by guided bus. Her Majesty opened the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology, and unveiled a plaque at the Rosie Maternity Hospital.

See BBC report here.

Extensive coverage of the event at the Cambridge News website includes a slideshow of 117 photographs.

You can hear a brief comment by  Michael Capper, who drove the royal bus, here.

Accident at Longstanton

There was a collision about 6.50 this morning between a car and a guided bus at Longstanton. See this report in the Cambridge News here. Two people sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospital. The busway did not return to normal for over two hours.

More information and a good photo of the incident on the BBC website.

Cambridgeshire transport strategy and a new busway to Haverhill

Faced with huge increases in the number of houses, and  population growth, in the county, Cambridgeshire County Council has warned that journeys could take up to 75% longer by 2031 if nothing is done about the transport infrastructure. Among proposals are new railway stations at Addenbrooke's (why has it taken them so long?) Fulbourn and Cherry Hinton. Reopening the railways to Haverhill and Bedford are suggested. An alternative idea for Haverhill is a guided busway alongside the A1307.

All this and more is included in an article in the Cambridge News here.

Cambridgeshire County Council source document here.

St Ives Park and Ride

The extension to the park & ride site at St Ives is now completed. In fact, it's been open for a week or two.

Damaged track between St Ives and Fen Drayton

As already noted in a comment on this blog, there is a 10mph speed restriction on the busway just east of the Ouse Viaduct. I asked a driver today and he told me that the track had been damaged by someone driving a trailer over that section. I'll take a closer look and hopefully get a photo.

Here's a photo taken by David Parrish, who writes in an email 'if buses can safely pass through gaps at 40mph, then 10mph for this chip seems rather cautious'. The damage is so close to the end of a beam, that I wonder if it's degradation of the concrete due to mechanical stress from passing buses, and perhaps exacerbated by the effects of freeze/thaw during the winter and early spring. Hugh from Cambridge suggests that the drivers story doesn't sound like the whole story.

Does anyone have any other opinions or ideas? Has anyone talked to other bus drivers?

Photo by David Parrish. 2013.

Royal visit to guided busway

According to the Cambridge News here, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be travelling on the guided busway on the afternoon of  23 May. Their journey will be from Cambridge Railway Station to Addenbrooke's Hospital where they will open the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the new Rosie Maternity Hospital. They will be travelling on a Stagecoach bus.

Bank Holiday bus services

Stagecoach are operating a Sunday bus service on bank holidays 6 and 27 May. This includes busway routes A and B. Details here. As usual there is no information about where in St Ives the buses will be calling. I expect the Station Road stop will be in use, but buses towards Cambridge may be using the stop in The Quadrant.

Whippet are also operating a Sunday service on 6 May but no information yet about 27 May.