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The Cambridge and St Ives branch (as it is named on New Popular Editions Ordnance Survey maps) was a railway built by the Wisbech, St Ives & Cambridge Junction Railway in the late 1840s. The railway ran from Cambridge 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.
Passenger services along the line managed to survive the Beeching Axe, but with British Rail 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 which ran until 1983 and a contract to ferry sand from ARC at Fen Drayton which continued until May 1992. [1]
The railway now forms the alignment of the northern section of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: a bus rapid transit scheme.
Stations listed northwest to south, in the 'up' direction
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. 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.
St Ives is a market town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England, 5 miles (8 km) east of Huntingdon and 12 miles (19 km) north-west of Cambridge. St Ives is historically in the historic county in Huntingdonshire.
The A14 is a trunk road in England, running 127 miles (204 km) from the Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk to its western end at the Catthorpe Interchange, a major intersection at the southern end of the M6 and junction 19 of the M1 in Leicestershire. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E24 and E30.
South Cambridgeshire is a mostly rural local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 148,755 at the 2011 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambridgeshire Rural District. It completely surrounds the city of Cambridge, which is administered separately from the district by Cambridge City Council.
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.
The Bramley Line is a railway line between March and Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England. A number of proposals are currently being investigated relating to the possible restoration of passenger services along the route.
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, 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of the city centre. It is the northern terminus of the West Anglia Main Line, 55 miles 52 chains (89.6 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street, the southern terminus.
Cottenham is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Cottenham is one of the larger villages surrounding the city of Cambridge, located around five miles north of the city. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 6095. Cottenham is one of a number of villages that make up the historical Fen Edge region in between Cambridge and Ely, which were originally settlements on the shore of the marshes close to the city of Cambridge, then an inland port.
The Ipswich–Ely line is a railway line linking East Anglia to the English Midlands via Ely. There is also a branch line to Cambridge. Passenger services are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. It is a part of Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.07, 05.08 and part of SRS 07.03. The line has previously been part of the Great Eastern Main Line.
Histon and Impington are villages in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. They are situated just north of Cambridge with the main bulk of the settlements being separated from the city by the A14 road (England).
Oakington is a small rural Anglo-Saxon village seven miles (11 km) 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 Westwick.
The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, known locally as The Busway, connects Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is the longest guided busway in the world, overtaking the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia.
Longstanton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Cambridge city centre. Longstanton occupies 2,775 acres (1,123 ha). Longstanton was created in 1953 from the two parishes of Long Stanton All Saints and Long Stanton St. Michael. Although the village is called Longstanton, an alternative form Long Stanton can still be found in use today particularly when referring to the separate pre-1953 parishes or to the current ecclesiastical parish.
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as "the Joint Line" was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It was formed by transferring certain route sections from the parent companies, and by the construction of a new route between Spalding and Lincoln, and a number of short spurs and connections. It was controlled by a Joint Committee, and the owning companies operated their own trains with their own rolling stock. The Joint Line amounted to nearly 123 miles (198 km) of route.
Oakington railway station was a station in Oakington, Cambridgeshire, on the line between Cambridge and St Ives. It opened in 1847 and was closed during the Beeching Axe in 1970. The station building remains as a private house but the track has been replaced by the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.
Histon was the name of a railway station in Impington, Cambridgeshire on the Cambridge–St Ives branch of the Great Eastern Railway. The station was closed as part of the Beeching Axe in 1970; but the line through the station remained open for freight trains until the early 1992. The station site was partially demolished, with the platforms and a small building on the down side being removed and the canopy severely truncated during the construction of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway but the station building was saved from being demolished; a car park was planned to be built on the site of the demolished station building.
St Ives railway station is a former railway station in St Ives, Cambridgeshire. It formed a junction, with lines to the east heading towards Cambridge, north towards Ely and March and west towards Godmanchester. It opened on 19 August 1847, closed on 5 October 1970, and was demolished in 1977. The site is now occupied by the St. Ives "Park and Ride" area.
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 Guided Busway, and provides an interchange with Park & Ride and local bus services.
Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Its main transport links are the M11 road to London, the A14 east–west road and the West Anglia Main Line railway line to London.
Whippet, formerly Go Whippet, is a bus and coach operator based in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, England.
Chesterton railway station was located on the line between Cambridge and Histon. It opened in 1850 and closed the same year.