Cambridgeshire guided busway
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The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, known locally as The Busway, connects
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 ...
,
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
and St Ives in the English county of
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
. It is the longest
guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired tra ...
way in the world, overtaking the
O-Bahn Busway The O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway that is part of the bus rapid transit system servicing the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by ...
in Adelaide, South Australia. Two guided sections make up of the route. The northern section, which uses the course of the former Cambridge and Huntingdon railway, runs through the former stations of , and . The southern section, which uses part of the former
Varsity Line The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. During World War II the line was ...
to Oxford, links
Cambridge railway station Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, down th ...
,
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...
and the park and ride site at
Trumpington Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...
, via housing on the Clay Farm site. Services are operated by Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire and
Whippet The Whippet is a dog breed of medium size. It is a sighthound breed that originated in England, descended from the Greyhound. Whippets today still strongly resemble a smaller Greyhound. Part of the hound group, Whippets have relatively few ...
, which have exclusive use of the route for five years in exchange for providing a minimum service frequency between 07:00 and 19:00 each week day. Specially adapted
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es are used: the
bus driver A bus driver, bus operator, or bus captain is a person who drives buses for a living. Description Bus drivers must have a special license above and beyond a regular driver's licence. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus sta ...
does not need to hold the
steering wheel A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles. Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...
on the guided sections of the busway. A total of 2,500,000 trips were made in the first year of operation. Proposed initially in the 2001 Cambridge-Huntingdon Multi-Modal Study, which recommended widening of the
A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...
and construction of a guided busway along the old railway lines, construction began in March 2007 and it was opened on 7 August 2011 after a succession of delays and
cost overrun A cost overrun, also known as a cost increase or budget overrun, involves unexpected incurred costs. When these costs are in excess of budgeted amounts due to a value engineering underestimation of the actual cost during budgeting, they are known ...
s. The original cost estimate of £116 million rose to £181 million by December 2010. An independent review of the project was announced on 21 September 2010, in which the Cambridge MP
Julian Huppert Julian Leon Huppert (born 21 July 1978) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 2010 to 2015. He succeeded David Howarth, who stood down after one term as an MP. At the 2015 gene ...
at the time described the busway as a "
white elephant A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
". A court case with
BAM Nuttall BAM Nuttall Limited (formerly known as Edmund Nuttall Limited) is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldw ...
, the main contractor, was settled by
Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a mem ...
in August 2013.


Overview

The scheme links
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 East Anglia, with St Ives,
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...
and
Northstowe Northstowe is a new town that will eventually have up to 10,000 homes, with an anticipated population of 24,400 in Cambridgeshire, England, UK. On 1 April 2021 Northstowe became a civil parish, the parish was formed from Longstanton and Oakingt ...
(a proposed
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
) to the north-west, and with the
M11 motorway The M11 is a motorway that runs north from the North Circular Road (A406) in South Woodford to the A14, northwest of Cambridge, England. Originally proposed as a trunk road as early as 1915, various plans were considered throughout the 1960s ...
to the south. The route includes two sections of guided operation, a bus-only road and other places with on-street operation in conventional
bus lanes A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, often on certain days and times, and generally used to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway c ...
. New
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
sites have been built at
Longstanton Longstanton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, north-west of Cambridge city centre. Longstanton occupies . Longstanton was created in 1953 from the two parishes of Long Stanton All Saints and Long Stanton St Michae ...
and at St Ives, with a tarmac cycle track/bridleway alongside some sections of the route. The final scheme includes
bus priority Bus priority or transit signal priority (TSP) is a name for various techniques to improve service and reduce delay for mass transit vehicles at intersections (or junctions) controlled by traffic signals. TSP techniques are most commonly associat ...
and real-time
passenger information system A passenger information system, or passenger information display system, is an automated system for supplying users of public transport with information about the nature and the state of a public transport service through visual, voice or other m ...
displays at busway bus stops; and subsequent separate funding and works to better link those stops to local businesses for pedestrians and cyclists. A total of 2,500,000 trips were made in the first year of operation, which Atkins reported was 40% higher than the predicted figure. Bus use along the corridor was estimated to have increased by 33% over the same period. Before opening, the contractor had predicted that an estimated 11,500 journeys per day would be made on the busway. The scheme was predicted to cause a direct reduction in traffic on the busy parallel
A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...
of 5.6% (rising to 11.1% with the new Park & Ride sites), although as other traffic re-routes to the freed-up road space from other parts of the local road network, the net reduction is predicted to be 2.3%. The overall scheme was "not intended to solve the congestion problems on the A14" by itself, but will rather have an overall effect across the local road network, and be complementary to planned improvements on the A14.


Route

Starting at
Huntingdon railway station Huntingdon railway station (formerly known as Huntingdon North) serves the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. It is on the East Coast Main Line, from , and has three platforms: one bay and two through platforms. The station is mana ...
and town centre, buses travel on normal roads to St Ives. From here the busway follows the path of the former Cambridge and Huntingdon railway to a new park and ride site south of the town, where it becomes guided. The buses stop at
Swavesey Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives. Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...
, Longstanton,
Oakington Oakington is a small rural Anglo-Saxon village north-west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. Since 1985 the village has formed part of the parish of Oakington and Westw ...
and
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 ...
, with a request stop for the nature reserve 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 ...
. Should a proposed
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
at Northstowe be built, further stops would be opened, with the Northstowe developers Gallagher Construction being encouraged to build the busway through the development beforehand. Upon entering Cambridge the route diverges. One route has stops at
Cambridge Regional College Cambridge Regional College is a mixed further education college in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. College profile The college offers courses in a wide range of subjects from hair and beauty and mechanics to media studies and science, as ...
and
Cambridge Science Park The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge. ...
, before it rejoins the road network into central Cambridge. The other joins the road network at Orchard Park (formerly Arbury Park), before continuing to the city centre. The two forks converge at Cambridge bus station for the journey to
Cambridge railway station Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, down th ...
. Beyond Cambridge railway station the buses are guided along the former Cambridge-Oxford railway (The Varsity Line) south to
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...
and Trumpington Park and Ride. This section last saw a scheduled passenger train in 1967.


Infrastructure

The busway is designed for buses travelling at , slowing to where it crosses public highways. Bus drivers are asked to drive as they would do on a normal road. Guidance is achieved using the guidewheel-on-concrete-kerb method, with the busway constructed from pre-cast concrete sections that are long and wide. Additionally, the guide wheels will aid close positioning at slightly modified bus stops within the on-street sections. The busway is wide, consisting of two 2.6-metre wide tracks separated by a central reservation of . Between Cambridge and St Ives there is also a wide (maximum) bridleway/maintenance track to one side and a evacuation strip to the other creating a total width of . Where necessary it is narrower; for example through the Trumpington cutting where there is a single busway with a narrower maintenance-only track giving a total width of approximately . In 2010, proposals were made to reduce the width of the bridleway, narrowing it to 3 metres and increasing the height in order to combat flooding. Elevated sections have two evacuation strips at busway level with the bridleway/maintenance track at the base of the embankment. The bridleway is usable by people on foot, bicycle and horse. The width of the busway is narrower than the width of a single-carriageway rural all-purpose road built to 2009 standards (excluding attendant verges and footpaths/cyclepaths in both cases). A conventional road would have been too wide to fit on top of existing railway embankments and across the under-bridges along parts of the route. The maintenance track is either adjacent to the busway on flat land, or to one side at the foot of the former railway embankments—the combined width of the maintenance track and the busway being considerably wider than that of the railway it had replaced. To negotiate Trumpington Cutting on the southern section, a narrower maintenance track was required, along with the use of a bi-directional
single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
busway in order to fit within the width of the former double-track railway line. The southern section is restricted to single-decker buses. In May 2012 the County Council received a petition calling for better night-time lighting for the bridleway alongside the southern section, and the need for this was subsequently acknowledged by the Council. Work on lighting was completed in autumn 2015.


Services


Current services (from 2020)

;Route A Stagecoach route A operates from
Trumpington Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...
Park-and-Ride site, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge City Centre, Orchard Park and St Ives. The Monday to Saturday off-peak timetable has three buses an hour. Previously this route ran via
Cambridge Science Park The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nearby University of Cambridge. ...
and
Cambridge Regional College Cambridge Regional College is a mixed further education college in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. College profile The college offers courses in a wide range of subjects from hair and beauty and mechanics to media studies and science, as ...
however this was changed in the summer of 2020 to run via Histon Road and Orchard Park ;Route B Stagecoach route B operates from
Trumpington Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...
Park-and-Ride site, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge City Centre, Cambridge North, Science Park, St Ives, Huntingdon and
Hinchingbrooke Hospital Hinchingbrooke Hospital is a small district general hospital in Hinchingbrooke near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Opened in 1983, it serves the Huntingdonshire area, and has a range of specialities as well as an emergency department and a materni ...
. The Monday to Saturday off-peak timetable has three buses an hour. From launch this route only started from Cambridge and ran via Orchard Park, however during Autumn 2020 the route was extended to
Trumpington Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...
to provide more service to Addenbrooke's and the Biomedical Campus. ;Route C Stagecoach route C operates from
Long Road Sixth Form College Long Road Sixth Form College (LRSFC) is a public sector co-educational sixth form college in Cambridge, England. It is situated on Long Road, from which it draws its name, and is located next to the Cambridge Bio-Medical Campus which encompasse ...
, Cambridge City Centre, Science Park and St Ives (with some journeys running onto Huntingdon). This service only operates in the peak with services running in only one direction (southbound during the morning, northbound during the evening). During the peak this service is run every 10 minutes and provides additional capacity along the core Busway route. ;Route U Whippet Route U was launched in July 2016, and is subsidised by the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. It currently operates from the Biomedical Campus and
Addenbrooke’s Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...
to
Cambridge Railway Station Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, down th ...
, Queens' College, the West
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 ...
Site and Eddington. There are up to 4 buses an hour during the day Mondays to Fridays, up to three buses an hour during the day on Saturdays, and up to two buses an hour on Sundays. There is a half-hourly service in the evenings Mondays to Saturdays. Whippet operate this service with seven
Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
/
Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 1999 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...
single-decker buses, with ''Universal'' branding in blue colours. ;Connecting Routes During Summer 2020,
Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
replaced several branches of the Busway A & B with connecting routes to locations not on the core busway route. This includes
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
, now served by Route 904 and Royston on Route 915, but also Routes V1-V5 running to rural areas such as
Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
and
Chatteris Chatteris is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England, situated in The Fens between Huntingdon, March and Ely. The town is in the North East Cambridgeshire parliamentary constituency. The parish of C ...
.


Initial Services (on opening in 2011)

Figures published during 2004 by Cambridgeshire County Council proposed that it would begin operation with six buses per hour and build up to 20 buses per hour into Cambridge during peak periods by 2016. Two operators, Stagecoach in The Fens and
Whippet The Whippet is a dog breed of medium size. It is a sighthound breed that originated in England, descended from the Greyhound. Whippets today still strongly resemble a smaller Greyhound. Part of the hound group, Whippets have relatively few ...
, committed to buying new buses and running commercial services on the scheme. The council had previously held talks with Cavalier (owner of Huntingdon and District, prior to being purchased by Stagecoach) and another operator. Originally Stagecoach route A operated three times an hour from St Ives Park and Ride to Trumpington (Monday to Saturdays daytimes only) and route B operated three times an hour from Huntingdon to Cambridge (with an hourly evening service) Mondays to Saturdays. On Sundays route B ran three time per hour between Cambridge and St Ives, with one journey per hour continuing to Huntingdon. There was no Sunday evening service. Whippet also operated a route C from Somersham and St Ives to Cambridge. To operate their services, Stagecoach ordered ten Eclipse/B7RLE single-decker buses, to be manufactured by Wrightbus and
Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, and ten
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor bus, low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the United Kingdom, British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident 2, ...
/
Scania N230UD The Scania N series is a line of low-floor bus chassis with straight-up, transversely mounted Euro IV or newer engine at the rear, built by Scania AB, Scania since 2006, replacing the Scania N94. It is available as the N UB (N230UB, N270UB, N280 ...
double deckers. All the specially-branded vehicles were equipped with leather seats, air chill or
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
, real time information, and free
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
. The new buses were deployed on Stagecoach's other services prior to the opening of the busway, having cost the operator a total of £3 million plus £1 million in staffing and training costs.


Withdrawn services

;Whippet C This service was operated from the opening of the guided busway until withdrawal in November 2018. The initial service was from St Ives to Cambridge and operated broadly hourly during the daytime Mondays to Saturdays (with some services starting from or continuing to Somersham. An hourly Sunday service was added shortly after introduction. In 2016 the service operated hourly from St Ives to Cambridge and Cambridge Railway Station during the day on Mondays to Sundays.Routes & Times , The Busway
/ref> ;Stagecoach N Following the opening of Cambridge North Stagecoach introduced a service from Longstanton Park and Ride to Cambridge via Cambridge North Station. From May to September 2017 this operated three times an hour Mondays to Saturdays daytimes (with a half hourly Sunday service being provided by route D. The service continued hourly until November 2018, when it was fully replaced by diverted A services operating as D. ;Whippet P From February to August 2019 Whippet operated 4 buses an hour from Cambridge to Cambridge Railway Station and Addenbrooke’s Hospital (with the first three morning and last three evening buses also serving Swavesey and operating via Orchard Park and stops on Histon Road). This service was withdrawn due to low passenger numbers. ;Stagecoach D After the withdrawal of Route N, Stagecoach introduced Route D which were re-numbered Route A journeys operating via Cambridge North Station and stopping along Milton Road. This route was withdrawn in the summer of 2020 due to a simplification of Busway services, with the Cambridge North extension replaced by Route B.


Ticketing

Tickets are bought on the bus. Originally passengers boarding on guided sections were required to purchase their tickets before boarding from one of seventeen ticket issuing machines compatible with ITSO smartcards. Cash sales from ticket machines were stopped following vandalism of ticket machines in 2014, and the ticket machines were taken out of use completely in 2019, the contactless machine at the Trumpington P&R busway stop will, however, remain. The Multibus multi-operator ticket for Cambridgeshire has never been accepted on guided busway services. Originally Cambridgeshire County Council stated that smartcard-based multi-operator ticketing would be supported, allowing passengers to board the first bus that arrived. They stated that such a ticket would be a first, but would take a while to perfect. A smartcard-based ticket that offered some of the promised features was available, but was withdrawn in November 2018 when Stagecoach became the only operator on the busway.


History


Planning

In 2001 the Cambridge-Huntingdon Multi-Modal Study (CHUMMS) recommended widening of the
A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...
and building a guided busway along the old Cambridge and Huntingdon railway, which had been closed to passengers since 1970 and to all traffic since 1993. Since closure there had been proposals to reinstate the rail service, and for a light railway network, a bus lane, a road with limited access, a bus-way, a cycle path and a nature walk. A local group, CAST.IRON, was set up in July 2003 after being inspired by the
Wensleydale Railway The Wensleydale Railway is a heritage railway in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in stages by different railway companies and originally extended to railway station on the Settle-Carlisle line. Since ...
to promote and undertake reinstatement of the route for trains and to resist other proposals, referring to the guided bus as the 'misguided bus'. A private consortium that had proposed a guided bus scheme, SuperCAM, abandoned their plans in 2003. Arup prepared the
Transport and Works Act The Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWA) was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to provide a system by which the construction of rail transport, tramway, inland waterway and harbour infrastructure could proceed in the UK by ord ...
(TWA) application presented in late 2003. A
public inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...
was held in September–October 2004. The scheme was supported by five bus and coach operators, and 20 other organisations and individuals. A total of 2,735 objections were received: from local councils, public bodies, transport interests, local pressure groups and individuals who criticised the
Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...
, supported the rail alternative or objected to the scheme in principle. The scheme was approved by the Government in December 2005.


Construction

In March 2007, the then
Transport Secretary The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...
Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as S ...
officially opened a manufacturing plant at Longstanton that would produce the 6,000–7,000 concrete beams for the busway. Each beam was 350 millimetres thick with a further 180-millimetre lip for the glide wheels to press against. A total of 50,000 tonnes of concrete was cast to a precision of plus or minus one millimetre. Supports below the beams were under-pinned by 2,150 piles along a length of the busway. In the same year a
viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
of maintenance-free
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
was built over the
River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...
as a replacement for the 200-tonne wrought-iron railway viaduct removed in 2007. There would later be a dispute between the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
-controlled County Council and opposition
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
councillors as to whether the structure was structurally sound, with a claim that water draining off the track over the viaduct could lead to crumbling. In March 2008 existing guided vehicles were trialled along a section near Oakington. The vehicles tested included a
Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...
-bodied single decker owned by
FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Plaxton President The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built at Northern Counties plant in Wigan, England and branded as a Plaxton product for its main production run. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassi ...
-bodied
Dennis Trident 2 The Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally manufactured by Dennis, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow. It was built by TransBus after Dennis was incorporated into the group in 2001, th ...
double decker from
Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...
, and a white
Alexander Dennis Enviro500 The Alexander Dennis Enviro500 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro500) is a three-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis (formerly by TransBus) in the United Kingdom. It was unveiled in 2002 and is one of the Enviro-series bus mod ...
triple-axled double decker. The test vehicles were fitted with sensors to assess vibration levels and ride quality. Hot weather testing of the track took place during May/June 2010. In addition to the bus fleet, Cambridgeshire County Council trialled and purchased a specially adapted "guided
gritter A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to car ...
" lorry for use during periods of cold weather, which will spray salt water rather than
rock salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...
. In November 2011 this was augmented with a customised "Multihog" gritter/snowplough vehicle from Ireland designed for clearing the accompanying maintenance track and cycleway. The Multihog is powered by 90-horsepower engine allowing it to travel at up to and features a brine tank, rather than solid grit. By August 2008 approximately of the busway had been constructed, between Longstanton and Milton Road (Science Park). On 30 November 2009, road signs directing traffic from the A14 towards the future busway park and ride sites started to be installed. Other signage related to the busway had required subsequent height adjustments, and spelling corrections. Trees had also blown over, blocking the busway route near Swavesey. The twelve junctions on the route fitted with
bus priority Bus priority or transit signal priority (TSP) is a name for various techniques to improve service and reduce delay for mass transit vehicles at intersections (or junctions) controlled by traffic signals. TSP techniques are most commonly associat ...
traffic signals were tested on 16 December 2010 and worked as expected.


Delays

In January 2009 it was announced that the scheduled opening of the scheme had been delayed until late summer 2009 owing to bad weather and flooding in the
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 ...
area. As a result of complications with a bridge at
Hills Road Hills Road is an arterial road (part of the A1307) in southeast Cambridge, England. It runs between Regent Street at the junction with Lensfield Road and Gonville Place (the A603) to the northwest and a roundabout by the Cambridge Bio ...
in Cambridge, traffic restrictions there continued throughout the summer of 2009. Flooding and drainage issues affected the limestone-covered cycleway during late 2009 and early 2010. In August 2009 a further delay until late November 2009 was announced for the opening of the northern section, with no date given for the southern section. On 16 November 2009 the project was delayed for the third time when Cambridgeshire County Council announced that the northern section would not open on the previously advertised date of 29 November 2009. An opening date of "the end of the year" 2009 for the northern section was announced later in the same month, followed four days later by "hopefully in the new year 010. Initial busway services would only reach
Huntingdon railway station Huntingdon railway station (formerly known as Huntingdon North) serves the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. It is on the East Coast Main Line, from , and has three platforms: one bay and two through platforms. The station is mana ...
and not serve
Hinchingbrooke Hospital Hinchingbrooke Hospital is a small district general hospital in Hinchingbrooke near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Opened in 1983, it serves the Huntingdonshire area, and has a range of specialities as well as an emergency department and a materni ...
as had originally been promoted during the public inquiry; neither would they continue southwards to Cambridge railway station. In January 2010, the contractors and Cambridgeshire County Council were still in discussions about what required finishing. During February 2010 the directors of both the signed-up bus operators—Andy Campbell of Stagecoach in Cambridge, and Peter Lee of Whippet coaches—expressed their companies' frustrations at the busway not being usable by the new buses they had bought to run on it. Shortly afterwards Stagecoach altered the slogan displayed on their fleet of buses for the busway, changing it from reading "I'll be on the busway soon, will you?" to a new slogan of "Will I be on the busway soon?". In the same month,
South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. I ...
District Council demanded of Cambridgeshire County Council a comprehensive public statement giving clarity over rising costs. In mid-June 2010, none of the listed outstanding issues had been fixed and a public review was announced. At the start of July 2010, it was reported that neither section would open before 2011; the bus operators reacted to the news angrily, suggesting that they might seek to reduce the minimum level of service that had been previously committed to. At a council meeting on 9 July 2010, a decision was taken to concentrate on completion of the southern section in order to get the whole route opened, rather than aiming for a phased introduction. During late September 2010
BAM Nuttall BAM Nuttall Limited (formerly known as Edmund Nuttall Limited) is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldw ...
missed deadlines for providing construction certificates needed by the Council, forcing it to begin its own inspections.


Trials

On 21 April 2011 the busway was officially handed over to Cambridgeshire County Council, triggering a 28-day period for any remedial works be undertaken by BAM Nuttall. This period expired without BAM Nuttall having completed any of the required work. The County Council contracted Jackson Civil Engineering to finish the busway, at BAM Nuttall's expense, with a view to opening the busway in August 2011. The County Council served a legal notice on BAM Nuttall that they were not willing to pay for the budget overrun. A number of preview trials of the busway were held, during which some problems were encountered, particularly with cyclists using the busway. In one incident a cyclist cycling on the guide beams, rather than the cycle path next to the busway, was struck by a bus. Trials of recovery procedures should a bus break down were also held, with the test finding that a stranded bus could be connected up and removed within five to ten minutes of a specially-adapted breakdown vehicle reaching the scene. During one preview journey held for journalists on 28 July 2011, Hugh Morris of the ''Cambridge First'' newspaper staged a race between the guided bus and a car travelling from Cambridge to St Ives to see which was quicker to reach the end of the track. The car beat the bus by ten minutes, although he noted that the trip had not been held during rush hour, during which the A14 road is noted for congestion. A journey from St Ives to the Cambridge Science Park was found to take 20 minutes.


Operation

The busway and cycle track officially opened to the public on 7 August 2011. The first guided bus left St Ives at 09:00 after the busway had been opened by
Andrew Lansley Andrew David Lansley, Baron Lansley, (born 11 December 1956) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who previously served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Secretary of State for Health and Leader of the H ...
MP. In the first seven days, 55,895 trips were made, leading to the operators providing additional buses on their services. Over the first four weeks the average was 52,227 journeys (224,054 total). Footfall and trade at businesses in the villages increased as a result, with the same increase reported by market traders and shopkeepers in St Ives. As a
bridleway A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding horses, riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now s ...
,
horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
s can also use the maintenance track adjacent to the northern guided section providing a traffic-free route between the villages. Work began at the end of July 2011 on improving the park and ride facilities at Longstanton. Construction work included a £430,000 passenger waiting room and exhibition centre, for the adjacent Northstowe development. The co-building subsequently won an award at the 2012 Green Apple Built Environment and Architectural Heritage Awards. On 12 January 2012, the busway celebrated its one millionth passenger. The intersections of the busway with the regular roads are equipped with prominently signed " car traps" to prevent motorists driving onto the guide beams and interfering with the bus traffic.


Expansion

An extension of the busway, to meet the new
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 ...
, was started in July 2014. The authority already had the necessary powers to build the extension. Originally scheduled to be open in December 2015, the railway station linked to the busway opened in May 2017.


Construction costs

The project was budgeted to cost £116.2 million, with central government providing £92.5 million. Cost-benefit analysis of the scheme had variously assessed the expected ratio as 4.84, 2.28 (1998 prices) and 1.968, (a higher ratio is better), with the cost rising from an initial estimate of £54 million. In December 2008, the County Council assessed the financial risks of the project as "high"; None of the £12.7 million funding—out of £23.7 million—due to come from property developers had been received by the promoters. In November 2009 the backers of the "cb1" redevelopment scheme around
Cambridge railway station Cambridge railway station is the principal station serving the city of Cambridge in the east of England. It stands at the end of Station Road, south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, down th ...
frontage, Ashwell Property Group, had been due to make their £927,000 contribution towards the busway scheme, but were given permission to defer, and entered administration in December 2009. The taxpayer was expected to have to make up any funding shortfall. Cambridgeshire County Council announced it was budgeting £1 million per year to cover potential ongoing costs associated with the busway, through the reorganisation of other transport related budgets. Repayments for the loans and associated interest would then be recovered from the contractors and future housing developers after the scheme had been completed. Contributions from developers were also used to pay for artworks and
time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...
s along the route.


BAM Nuttall dispute

In 2008,
BAM Nuttall BAM Nuttall Limited (formerly known as Edmund Nuttall Limited) is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldw ...
claimed that it would cost more than the original budgeted amount to finish the work, perhaps £6 million more. Another report suggests that the overrun could be £30 million on a construction cost of £90 million. Cambridgeshire County Council stated that it had been confident that the scheme would come in on budget because of the terms of its contract with BAM Nuttall. By December 2009, the project had been forecasted to be £1.3 million over budget, the Council's extra liabilities being limited to £5 million over the originally agreed price—with the right to impose penalties upon the contractors for late delivery; since February 2009, the contractors had been amassing a fine of £14,000 per day for late delivery, amounting to £6 million by June 2010 and estimated in December 2010 to be £9 million. On 29 January 2010, Cambridgeshire County Council's head of audit and risk management stated that uncertainty over the final construction price had been causing
cash flow A cash flow is a real or virtual movement of money: *a cash flow in its narrow sense is a payment (in a currency), especially from one central bank account to another; the term 'cash flow' is mostly used to describe payments that are expected ...
issues for the council. The County Council's performance bond with BAM Nuttall was limited to £7.5 million, plus a further "unlimited guarantee" from
Koninklijke BAM Groep Royal BAM Group nv ( nl, Koninklijke BAM Groep nv) is a Dutch construction-services business with headquarters in Bunnik, Netherlands. It is the largest construction company based on revenue in the Netherlands. History The company was founded by ...
, BAM Nuttall's parent company based in The Netherlands. The original price for the engineering works conducted by BAM Nuttall had been £88 million, and estimates in mid-February 2010 projected costs to have increased to £120 to 140 million. The main issue was structural repairs necessary to the new Great Ouse Viaduct to prevent water ingress. Later that month, Cambridgeshire County Council stated that the council was due to borrow £41 million during 2010 and then £10.2 million the year after, payable to BAM Nuttall in order to complete the project. Cambridgeshire County Council brought in
Atkins Atkins may refer to: Places in the United States * Atkins, Arkansas, a city * Atkins, Iowa, a city * Atkins, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Nebraska, an unincorporated community * Atkins, Virginia, a census-designated place * ...
as consultants to manage the project. Following the delivery delays, Atkins' bill increased from an expected £2.9 million to £9.6 million. The cost of this would be offset by the £10.8-million fine imposed on BAM Nuttall over the same time-period. A court date of January 2014 was scheduled for proceedings to begin at the
Technology and Construction Court The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...
in London. Cambridgeshire County Council stated that it had set aside £6.5 million for legal costs for pursuing the £60 million claim against BAM Nuttall. In May 2012 BAM Nuttall launched a £43-million
counterclaim In a court of law, a party's claim is a counterclaim if one party asserts claims in response to the claims of another. In other words, if a plaintiff initiates a lawsuit and a defendant responds to the lawsuit with claims of their own against th ...
. On 30 August 2013, Cambridgeshire County Council announced that it had reached an
out of court settlement In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
with BAM Nuttall, paying them £84.7 million, up from the £83.9 million original fee. Legal costs and other charges would set the total cost at £152 million, £26 million of which would have to come from the Council budget.


Future proposals

In October 2017 tests began with a ten-seater driverless micro bus running on the grade-separated section from Cambridge railway station to Trumpington Park and Ride. Further expansions to the busway itself have been proposed.


Cambourne and West Cambridge

The Greater Cambridge Partnership is consulting on a new busway to the west from Grange Rd (March 2019).


Southern extensions

Cambridgeshire County Council has proposed extending the busway beyond each of the Addenbrooke's Hospital and Trumpington Park and Ride termini. Funding would be part of the same
Transport Innovation Fund The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) was a transport funding mechanism in England, that has been replaced by the Urban Challenge Fund in March 2010. Its creation was announced by Her Majesty's Government in the July 2004 White Paper, ’The Futur ...
proposals.


Newmarket Road

During May 2012 proposals were published by the council to provide segregated bus lanes or an extended bus guideway down the central reservation of
Newmarket Road, Cambridge Newmarket Road is an arterial road in the east of Cambridge, England. It is designated the A1134 at the western end, linked by a roundabout forming a junction with Barnwell Road (A1134) to the south. The eastern end links with the city's i ...
, between Cambridge United Football Club's
Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a association football, football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum Seating capacity, capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional Coll ...
and East Road, Cambridge.


Other proposals

In connection with the Chesterton diversion, the CamLink consortium have proposed a busway from the centre of Cambridge, past Cambridge North station to
Waterbeach Waterbeach is an expanding village north of Cambridge on the edge of The Fens, in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It was designated a "new town" in 2018. History Early periods Waterbeach is on the Car Dyke, a Rom ...
. CamLink is a proposal developed by RLW Estates which is a consortium of The Royal London Group, Turnstone Estates and St John's College. CamToo, a transport scheme developed by a separate set of local interest groups, has also offered proposals for further expansion of the guided busway network including: *Extending the service to operate to Peterborough *Extension beyond the Milton Road junction, crossing Milton Road to Barnwell Bridge, continuing along the railway alignment already used *New access routes to and from the
A14 road A14 may refer to: * Aero A.14, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft built after World War I * Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification System 14 ( ATC code A14) ''Anabolic agents for systemic use'', a subgroup of the ATC Classification Syst ...
to enable buses from
Bar Hill Bar Hill is a purpose-built village with a population of 4,000 about 4 miles (7 km) northwest of Cambridge, England on the A14 road, just east of the Prime Meridian. History Prior to the building of the Bar Hill settlement the area was o ...
and
Cambourne Cambourne is a new settlement and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England, in the district of South Cambridgeshire. It lies on the A428 road between Cambridge, 9 miles (14 km) to the east, and St Neots and Bedford to the west. It compris ...
to access the northern section of the busway and its bridge under the A14 road. *A new bridge under the A14 dual carriageway to enable buses serving Milton, including a new Park and Ride site, to avoid the busy Milton Road / A14 roundabout. *Conversion of bus lanes on Newmarket Road to "tramway" style (bus lanes moved into the centre of the road with right turns across the bus lanes prohibited for normal traffic). *Extension beyond Addenbrooke's Hospital, connecting to the A1303 Babraham Road *Extension beyond Trumpington Park and Ride along the course of the old Bedford railway line to the B1046 between Barton and
Comberton Comberton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, just east of the Prime Meridian. History Archaeological finds, including a Neolithic polished stone axe (found to the south of the current village) and a Bronze Age bar ...
. In February 2012 a proposal was reported from the Campaign for Better Transport to construct an additional Park & Ride facility at
Brampton Racecourse Brampton Racecourse is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Brampton in Cambridgeshire. The site is also a horse racing venue called Huntingdon Racecourse. The site is species-rich neutral grassland, a rare habitat in the co ...
to the north-west of Huntingdon.


Incidents


Vehicle Incursions

In the 6 months until January 2013, a total of 20 cars had attempted to drive onto the busway; 18 of these happened at the start of the busway in St Ives at the junction with Harrison Way and the other incidents occurred at various junctions in Cambridge. On 5 April 2013, a lorry driver accidentally drove along the busway after following directions given by
satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...
. A spokesman for the truck operator concluded that the driver had "relied too heavily on his sat-nav". No damage was caused to the busway and no one was injured. The council warned that the company could be fined if it happened again. On 7 February 2019, a lorry became stuck on the busway near
Swavesey Swavesey is a village lying on the Prime Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives. Listed as ''Suauesye'' in the Domesday ...
for more than 6 hours after entering at
Longstanton Longstanton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, north-west of Cambridge city centre. Longstanton occupies . Longstanton was created in 1953 from the two parishes of Long Stanton All Saints and Long Stanton St Michae ...
.


Deaths

Three people have been killed since the busway opening in 2011: A pedestrian was struck and killed as she tried to cross the busway in the dark near to the Fen Drayton Lakes stop on 17 November 2015. An inquest into the incident concluded in July 2019, recommending the installation of lighting at the stop. About south of Cambridge railway station, a tourist was hit by the wing mirror of a passing bus on 11 June 2018 and was taken to hospital with injuries to his leg and shoulders. After this incident, the speed limit in the southern section of the Busway was reduced to 30mph. High bus speeds and crowding around the Cambridge Assessment area had been reported, by local councillors, before this incident. On 13 September 2018, just a few metres from where the tourist was hit, a cyclist was also struck and killed by a bus on the busway. On 26 October 2021, a woman was struck and killed near the crossing with Long Road.]


Bus 'Derailments'

Buses on the busway have derailed five times. Two derailments, both in the southern section, were blamed on excessive speed, and two more, one on the northern and one on the southern section, were blamed by operators on driver error in judging transitions between different parts of the busway. The cause of the most recent derailment, in October 2019 near Longstanton, is currently unknown.


Other Incidents

Other incidents have included one bus crashing into the back of another, following the first braking hard due to horses obstructing the busway, a collision between a bus and a delivery van at a
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
at Longstanton, and a collision between a car and a bus, also at Longstanton which resulted in a fire. This was the only incident which resulted in a bus being written off. In November 2020 a Stagecoach bus travelling on Route C was deroofed under Hills Road bridge. The incident did not cause any serious injury but caused substantial damage to the bus which was under one year old at the time of the accident. The alarm-bell wire over the busway, which had been heavily damaged for many years, was replaced in mid 2021.


See also

* Other busway systems *
Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro The Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM) was a rapid transit proposal in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It suggested that the project would be delivered between 2023 and 2029. Proposed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority mayor Jam ...


References


External links


"The Busway" official website
*
Cambridge to Huntingdon Multi Modal StudyCAST.IRON:
pressure group supporting railway reinstatement
NoGuidedBus
comprehensive collection of links to press articles
Video of the St Ives to Cambridge section of the busway
{{UK busway Guided busways and BRT systems in the United Kingdom
Guided Busway Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired trams ...
Guided Busway Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired trams ...