The Cambridge and St Ives branch (as it is named on
New Popular Edition
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Ordnance Survey
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maps) was a railway built by the ''Wisbech, St Ives & Cambridge Junction Railway'' in the late 1840s. The railway ran from
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
in the south, through Fenland countryside to the market town of
St Ives; more specifically, the line ran from ''Chesterton Junction'', where it met the present-day
Fen line north of the
River Cam
The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...
.
Passenger services along the line managed to survive the
Beeching Axe
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...
, but with
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
citing heavy losses the final passenger service ran between St Ives and Cambridge on 5 October 1970. Despite campaigns to reopen the service during the 1970s, the only subsequent rail traffic on the line was a freight service to
Chivers in
Histon
Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...
which ran until 1983 and a contract to ferry sand from ARC at
Fen Drayton
Fen Drayton is a small village between Cambridge and St. Ives in Cambridgeshire, England, and between the villages of Fenstanton and Swavesey.
The village has a primary school, village hall, tennis courts and football fields, where Drayton Li ...
which continued until May 1992.
The railway now forms the alignment of the northern section of the
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, known locally as The Busway, connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is the longest guided busway in the world, overtaking the O-Bahn Buswa ...
: a
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
scheme.
Stations
''Stations listed northwest to south, in the 'up' direction''
*
St. Ivesopened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
* opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
* (or Longstanton)opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
* opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
* opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
* opened 19 January 1850, closed October 1850.
* opened 30 July 1845.
What remains
On its 2011 opening, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway route absorbed the majority of the old railway between St Ives and the point at which the bus joined public roads at
Milton Road
Milton Road is an arterial road in Brisbane, Australia. It is currently signed as State Route 32 for its entire length. Milton Road is a major corridor for traffic between the Brisbane central business district and the western suburbs. It car ...
. The remaining section between the former level crossing over Milton Road and the Fen line was converted to an extension to the Guided Busway in 2015 to join it to the planned
Cambridge North railway station
Cambridge North railway station is a railway station located in the Cambridge suburb of Chesterton, close to Cambridge Science Park. The station is on the Fen Line, which runs from Cambridge to King's Lynn. It connects to the Cambridgeshire ...
.
References
Further reading
Disused Stations Subterranea Britannica
The Busway Cambridgeshire County Council
CAST.IRON a pressure group committed to reopening the railway
Photos of The Cambridge to St Ives Branch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge and St Ives branch
Closed railway lines in the East of England
Rail transport in Cambridgeshire
Rail transport in Cambridge