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

Busway diversions - weekends in March

Details have now been posted of this month's weekend diversions on the Busway.

In summary:

9-10 March: Between Longstanton and Oakington. But no changes to the stops served.
17-18 March: Between Histon and Milton Road, and with changes to pick up and set down locations
24-25 March: Between Histon and Milton Road, and with changes to pick up and set down locations

The maintenance track remains open at all times.

All services are affected. It's reasonable to assume that these diversions will involve extended journey times around the blockages, but as there's no mention of them on either the Stagecoach or Whippet websites, there's no further information about these. Unlike engineering works on the railways, the bus companies never issue revised timetables, so if you need to be somewhere at a specific time (a railway station, for example!), you're left to do the calculations yourself.

Further details are now available (at rather short notice) on the County Council website.

[Updated] Busway extension to new Railway Station - and the right kind of bollard?

In the last post there was mention of "the recently completed extension of the busway that will serve the new Cambridge North station."

The busway extension is not open yet, and probably won't be until there is a station to go to, but part of the adjacent cycleway/footpath is.

There is a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing at the end of the current busway to cross Milton Road (in one leg - no intermediate islands). The entrance to the new busway extension is clearly closed with metal fences, but the entrance to the footpath/cycleway is open.

View from Milton Road

The "Busway" is a normal single carriageway road, with a short section of surface-mounted metal guide-rails and a car-trap at the entrance.

Closer view of the bollards

The foot/cycle path is similar to that along the rest of the busway, but the bollards are quite different.

- They are about twice the height,
- Painted black and white
- With a reflector near the top
- And a pair of handles.

The handles appear to be to help lift the bollard out of the socket.

The path continues just round the bend from the furthest point visible in these photos, then you are forced to turn right along a short path to join Nuffield Road.

I wonder if National Cycle Route 51 will be diverted to use this new path?

Update 16 Jan 2016

Today I took some more photos.

Viewed from the side, it is apparent that these bollards are designed to lift out of their socket when unlocked, and the locking flap (shown on left here) hinges down to cover the hole. But to the right of the hole as viewed in above photos, there is a metal eye so that as the flap goes down, the eye protrudes through the hole in the flap so it can be padlocked locked in place.

The next picture shows this eye viewed from ground level. I estimate it is about 25mm high, and about 5mm thick. If you hit that with the edge of your cycle tyre, I suspect it could cause a puncture. Hitting the padlock if it was in place would not be very pleasant either.

Finally, a photo of the bollards where the connecting path from Nuffield Road meets the new busway extension:

These are very similar to the old bollards along the busway, but with proper reflectors at the top, and black/yellow stripes below that.

Bus and cycle link to Cambridge Science Park railway station

Work to create a  road/cycleway link between the guided busway and the new Cambridge Science Park railway station is stepping up. 

The cycle/pedestrian underpass under the old railway in Milton Road will close - cyclists and pedestrians will be diverted to the other side of Milton Road. Motor traffic will continue on Milton Road throughout the operation in both directions, but traffic may be diverted onto a bus only lane. This phase of the work will be completed in March 2015.

The station is expected to open in May 2016. 

Read more at

Cambridge News

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.

Mitcham's Corner bus cut-through

Cambridgeshire County Council is planning to create a 'cut-through' for buses at Mitcham's Corner. This will speed up buses travelling from Victoria Avenue to Milton Road and Chesterton Road by 30 seconds, and will benefit Busway routes A and C. The cost of £97,000 is part of a £5.2 million Government-funded scheme to improve bus transport in Cambridge and is supported by the bus companies.

See Cambridge News here.

Busway extension to Chesterton Station - traffic conflicts

Cycling campaigners and local residents in the vicinity of the new Cambridge Science Park Station have highlighted potential traffic conflicts between the busway extension to the station and lorry traffic to/from the Nuffield Road industrial estate. They are proposing that Nuffield Road traders be given a direct link to Milton Road.

Details at Cambridge News here.

Starlight bike ride on guided busway

Cambridgeshire County Council is organising a late night cycle ride between Cambridge and St Ives to celebrate the new solar stud lights that were recently installed along the cycle track. Any cyclist is welcome to join in. Groups will start from either end at 10.30pm on Friday 12 April. Meet at the Golden Hind, Milton Road, or at St Ives Town Hall. Refreshments will be provided at  Longstanton Park & Ride until midnight.

Full details here.

Also reported in the Cambridge News.

Several comments about the cycle ride in the Cambridge News here.

Delays on busway due to accident on A14

A fatal accident in which  two trucks collided on the A14 between junctions 32 and 33, had a knock on effect from busway passengers this evening. Traffic ground to a halt on Milton Road and buses leaving Cambridge on routes A and C were delayed. I was on the 16.53 from New Square, which did not reach the Science Park until 18.40. Arrival into St Ives was at 19.00, 1 hour 35 minutes late. See report in Cambridge News.

Although the busway has effectively bypassed the Fenstanton-Girton section of the A14, Milton Road is still susceptible to delays when there are problems on the A14. There are few options for buses diverting from their normal route to avoid Milton Road ( e.g. Gilbert Road and Arbury Road) but on this occasion my bus was past Arbury Road before the traffic came to a standstill.  I was not aware of any radio communication between the bus driver and the busway control centre at Longstanton.

The lorry driver killed in the accident has  been named as Richard Plumb (52) from Bury St Edmunds. See Cambridge News.

Delays to busway services

While buses on the busway regularly travel the St Ives-Milton Road section in 20-22 minutes, punctuality of buses has always been affected by road conditions elsewhere. On Thursday 5 April an accident,took place on Milton Road, Cambridge about 2.49pm forcing busway routes A and C to be diverted via Victoria Road, Histon Road and Kings Hedges Road. I travelled home from work on the 16.59 Service A, boarding at Parkside. Fortunately traffic levels were light, and the notoriously slow and congested junction at Victora Road/Histon Road was flowing smoothly. My bus reached St Ives about 10 minutes late. The diversion route ran parallel to the Orchard Park (un)guided busway, and it was noticeable that we covered that section much faster than the regular Service B which is slowed down by the lack of guide kerbs and by numerous crossings and traffic lights. Passing the back of eth CRC stop, I noticed a number of passengers waiting who usually travel on the same bus I do. By the time my Stagecoach bus had reached CRC, these people were no longer on the platform. They had been picked up by the Whippet C running just ahead of my bus - so some evidence perhaps of the two rival bus companies co-operating unofficially. A report of the unfortunate accident which caused these delays can be seen at here.