Bedford’s long-running East West Rail saga has entered a new phase after the company behind the scheme published a 277-page “You Said, We Did” report overnight, setting out design changes across Bedfordshire.
The update includes plans for a rebuilt ‘public plaza’ style Bedford station with a new western entrance, a relocated Bedford St Johns station for the hospital, confirmation that the Marston Vale Line will be cut from nine stations to four, and a new Stewartby stop to serve the proposed Universal Studios.
East West Railway Company (EWR) says more than 80 changes have been made to the scheme in response to public feedback earlier this year.
But Bedford’s political and campaign leaders, who are working through the report, say much of the document contains little that is genuinely new and that fundamental concerns over demolitions, extra tracks and fairness have not been addressed.
Read: Universal and East West Rail clash over perceived “significant technical flaws”
New Bedford station, plaza and western entrance
In Bedford town centre, EWR now proposes a complete redevelopment of Bedford Midland, creating what it calls a “state-of-the-art transport hub”.
The plans include:
- A new station building and concourse
- A new pedestrian plaza on the Midland Road side, intended to create a more straightforward route between the station and the town centre
- Improved bus interchange facilities
- A new western entrance on the Queens Park side to link directly into existing and planned housing
EWR says it is also considering an additional “up fast” platform on the Midland Main Line, which it argues would make it easier for passengers to switch between East West Rail services and north-south trains.
A key change from earlier designs is the location of a multi-storey car park. Earlier this year, residents on Ashburnham Road were told a large car park was planned on the eastern side of the station.
In the new report, EWR says it now wants to move the multi-storey to the west, accessed from Ford End Road, to reduce the visual impact on Ashburnham Road and “maximise development opportunities” around the station itself.
The company also confirms that, north of the station, it still intends to add two more tracks alongside the existing Midland Main Line, taking the total to six between Bromham Road bridge and Manton Lane.
This, argues Bedford Borough Council, impacts 53 homes and businesses in and around Ashburnham Road, including Dom Polski, the Polish social club, and a GP surgery serving around 4,000 patients, which may need to be demolished.
“We will go through this line by line”
Elected Mayor of Bedford Borough, Tom Wootton, said his team was still working through the 277-page document.
“East West Rail has published its 277-page report at midnight, and we are urgently evaluating its contents in full.
“When I met East West Rail’s leadership in September, I raised every issue our community has been worried about, from the devastating impact on Ashburnham Road and the Poets area, including the tragic and pointless loss of the Stacja Dom Polski, nearby homes and the doctor’s surgery serving 4,005 local residents.
“There is also the frightening disruption of hospital access, the gridlocking of our town, the brutal environmental scarring of our rural areas and how potentially ten years of construction could disastrously affect local businesses and services.
“We will go through this report line by line and challenge anything that does not properly protect our residents or our Borough.
“Residents can be confident that my priority remains to protect them.”
Read: Shock as a further 10 Bedford properties could be demolished as EWR unveils “design changes”
Hospital impact
The report gives more detail on plans around Bedford St Johns and the hospital.
EWR says its design team is working closely with Bedford Hospital NHS Trust on a relocated Bedford St Johns station “positioned to ensure staff, patients and visitors have the most convenient access” and with accessible lifts to all platforms.
The new station would sit entirely on existing railway land between Ampthill Road and Cauldwell Street bridges. Alongside it, EWR now proposes a new multi-storey car park on the north side of Britannia Road, next to the hospital’s proposed expansion.
It says this will include disabled bays and electric vehicle charging and will be shared between hospital users and station passengers, with temporary parking provided before any existing bays are removed.
On the hotly debated question of bridges, EWR now says it has found “possible ways to avoid demolishing” both Ampthill Road and Cauldwell Street bridges by lowering the track instead of raising the road.
It stresses that further checks are still needed to determine whether the bridges can remain in place safely.
But, it says updated design standards mean any road realignment would now be shorter, and that earlier plans for permanent closures and long diversions have been dropped.
However, the report confirms that significant engineering work will still be required in this area, and local leaders say major questions remain over how access to the hospital will be maintained during construction and how traffic will be managed.
North Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller said he remained concerned about “the risks to Bedford Hospital both in terms of disruption and the hospital’s long-term plans”, alongside wider issues around the cost and environmental impact of the route through his constituency.
“Next week, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will unleash even more pain on taxpayers whilst continuing to support a loss-making, environmentally damaging railway line through North Bedfordshire for a railway company that can’t even work out who should open the doors on their trains,” he said.
“I will look in detail at the latest version of East West Rail’s plans, but fundamental concerns remain: the impact on Clapham; the totally inappropriate route north through Ravensden, Wilden and other rural areas and the confusing routing in East Bedfordshire as it crosses the A1”.
Read: East West Rail under renewed pressure as Bedfordians and leaders demand answers
Stewartby lined up for Universal
Away from the town centre, one of the most far-reaching changes is on the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford.
Following consultation, the Department for Transport has now agreed to EWR’s recommendation to pursue the “Consolidated Stations” option, which replaces the existing nine stations with four larger, fully accessible stops.
Under the latest plans:
- Woburn Sands would be relocated slightly west, on the north side of the railway within the South East Milton Keynes strategic housing allocation, with a new road bridge and walking and cycling links feeding in from surrounding neighbourhoods.
- Ridgmont would move to a new site west of the M1, which EWR says would serve more people, support new homes and have less impact on existing businesses than expanding the current station. The company says it is in talks with the popular Ridgmont Station Tea Rooms about how their community venue can continue at the old site.
- Lidlington would be rebuilt near the current Pilling Farm South level crossing, with new active travel links from the village and connections to Millbrook via the Forest of Marston Vale route.
- Stewartby station would move north of Broadmead Road. EWR says this location offers “better value for taxpayers”, avoids clashing with redevelopment of the former brickworks and gives better road access, particularly in light of Universal’s proposed theme park and Bedford Borough Council’s draft Local Plan for housing and employment in the area.
The company also now plans to run up to five trains per hour in peak times on the Marston Vale corridor to cater for visitor demand to the Universal resort and for growth in the corridor. This is an increase on the initially proposed three trains per hour.
Richard Pill, chief executive of the Bedford Rail and Transport Association, welcomed the confirmation of rail serving the Universal site but warned that some existing users risk being “left behind”.
He raised particular concerns about the impact on pupils and staff at Kimberley College and the Village at Stewartby, who currently rely on Stewartby and Kempston Hardwick stations.
He also argued that the wider East West Rail plan still misses opportunities to plug Bedford into a stronger regional network, pointing out that there is no firm commitment to extensions towards Northampton, Ipswich or Norwich despite earlier government studies suggesting strong business cases for better east west freight and passenger links.
Tempsford route confirmed
Further east, EWR has now confirmed its “emerging preference” for the 1c alignment around Tempsford, which runs north of the Black Cat junction.
Under this option:
- The line would cross the A421 and the River Great Ouse on a lower viaduct than in the alternative 1b alignment.
- A new Tempsford station would sit north of the new dual carriageway, at the point where East West Rail crosses the East Coast Main Line.
- In the longer term, the station is intended to act as a major interchange, serving both East West Rail and north-south services, and supporting a proposed new town in the area.
EWR says 1c is shorter, more affordable and has less visual and community impact than 1b, and argues that running the railway alongside the A421 will create a single transport corridor rather than two separate routes.
In an attempt to “deliver benefits sooner”, it now proposes that platforms on the East Coast Main Line at Tempsford should be built first, ahead of the full east-west line, allowing some services to call there earlier.
Campaign group BFARe said the latest update did nothing to change their view that the entire northern route through Bedfordshire is “financially and environmentally unsound” compared with a southern alternative.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the new report felt like another “glossy or tick box response” that failed to engage with the core question of whether the benefits of the chosen route really justify the loss of homes, disruption to communities and long-term impact on the landscape.
They urged Bedford and Kempston MP Mohammad Yasin to raise these concerns directly with the Transport Secretary.
Trust still low
Mohammad Yasin, Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston, said there were potential benefits in the report but that key concerns remained unresolved.
“There is little in this document that is genuinely new, and it does not address several of the concerns I raised in my consultation response, especially around the six-track proposals and the compulsory purchase.
“Clarity is always welcome and there are clear potential benefits for Bedford, but these sit alongside serious downsides for those who still feel they are not being treated fairly, especially homeowners facing compulsory purchase.
“I will continue to push for improvements where change is still possible, especially around a fair compensation package, proper treatment of residents and credible mitigation.
“I will continue to ensure our community’s concerns are heard and to press for transparency, accountability and the best outcome for Bedford.”
Green councillor Ben Foley, who represents Greyfriars ward, focused on the impact on renters along the Ashburnham Road corridor.
He said EWR’s language about land and property owners underlined a wider problem.
“East West Rail’s talk of a ‘new pedestrian plaza in front of the station’ stings when you know they are going to knock down dozens of homes to clear the space for it,” he said.
“When I repeatedly pressed them at the recent public meeting, EWR refused to even consider compensating renters. That was sickening.
“Some residents of Ashburnham Road have stayed put for decades and were planning never to move again. It was only after I secured a degree of honesty about the treatment of renters at the 6 November meeting that the Borough Council finally started to reach out to renters to seek to make some provision for them.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Headley, who represents Putnoe, added, “It is very disappointing that they have not backed down on the devastating impact of the unnecessary extra tracks north of Bedford station and the additional land grab in Ashburnham Road.
“East West Rail will be an important project for our Borough, helping to revitalise our economy, bring jobs and support the Universal project. However, getting the plans right is crucial as is minimising the disruption through the construction phase.
“We welcome the new fast line platform in the plans. This is a key part of the rail strategy we introduced and will improve wider connectivity from Bedford station, not just East West Rail.”
A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Labour Group said his councillors would be “looking closely at the report over the next few days” and would feed residents’ concerns back through the Local Representatives Group meetings.
“We have listened and made changes”
East West Railway Company says the new report is proof that it has been listening and making changes.
Chief executive David Hughes says the updates are designed to show how community feedback has shaped the plans, from the proposed “new gateway” station at Bedford Midland to better access for Bedford Hospital and the decision to speed up delivery of a Tempsford station.
The company’s line is that the scheme is now more focused on connecting people in the places that matter most, while still promising long-term benefits for the region.
External affairs director Natalie Wheble has also stressed that EWR values the time residents have spent attending meetings, asking questions and challenging the project.
She says the public meeting in Bedford was precisely the kind of engagement they want to continue, and that feedback from those events will continue to inform the design.
EWR is keen to reassure people that it has “heard the concerns” and is committed to keeping communities updated and involved as the plans move towards the next round of consultation.
What happens next
EWR says it will hold a series of local events early in the new year so residents can see more details of the updated designs in their own areas.
A further formal consultation is expected in the spring or summer, ahead of an application to the Secretary of State for a Development Consent Order that would give legal permission to build the line.
For Bedford, the You Said, We Did report follows earlier announcements about proposed demolitions on Ashburnham Road and in the Poets area, plans for six tracks through the town and a construction period that could affect access to Bedford Hospital, local businesses and nearby neighbourhoods.
Read: Our comprehensive EWR coverage since 2018
The latest document sets out more detail on EWR’s preferred schemes, including the relocation of the Bedford station multi-storey car park to the west, revised bridge works at Ampthill Road and Cauldwell Street and design changes along the Marston Vale Line, including a new Stewartby station to serve the proposed Universal resort.
Campaign groups, councillors and MPs have raised ongoing concerns about compulsory purchase, the northern route, the impact on specific communities and the way renters and homeowners are treated within the compensation framework.
They say they will continue to scrutinise the plans as further detail emerges.
Update: This article was updated at 18:14 on 24 November 2025 to correct figures relating to the number of homes and businesses that may need to be demolished as part of the EWR project.
