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. [1] Proposed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority mayor James Palmer in 2017, it was scrapped when he lost the 2021 election to Nik Johnson, who cancelled the project.
Cambridge had a tram system, Cambridge Street Tramways, between 1880 and 1914, after which it was replaced by buses. [2]
The mayor of the newly created Combined Authority made the introduction of a light rail scheme, partly running underground, a priority on his election in 2017; [3] however, the proposed system was intended to use rubber-tyred vehicles, not light rail. [4]
The strategic business case for the project was approved in March 2019. [5] It claimed that the project, priced at £4 billion, could lead to the creation of 100,000 jobs and 60,000 new homes. [6] One CAM Ltd was established in September 2020. The company is entirely owned by the Combined Authority and is responsible for developing and delivering the project. Its board is chaired by Robert Mair. [7]
In October 2020, it was announced that three shortlisted companies would each be given £200,000 to develop "creative and feasible" concepts for the system. [8] These were revealed in March 2021, created by Mott MacDonald, Egis Group, and Dromos Technologies. Each concept is said to cost £2 billion to implement. [9]
In March 2021, the Labour candidate in the Combined Authority said it had spent £2.5 million on the project so far. The Labour mayoral candidate Nik Johnson stated that he would scrap the project if he was elected. [10] Upon his successful election to the post he re-confirmed that the project was scrapped. [11]
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The project was envisioned to connect Cambridge North railway station with the city centre, the northern entrance of the science park near Arbury, and the disused railway stations at Haverhill and Linton. The proposed scheme would have run for 88 miles and include 7 miles of tunnels beneath the city. [6] [12] Branches would run from the core to Alconbury, St Neots (potentially interchanging with East West Rail), Trumpington, Haverhill, Mildenhall and Waterbeach. [8]
In May 2020, a report was published which proposed halving costs from £4 billion to £2 billion by using smaller vehicles, allowing for narrower tunnels. [1]
In March 2021 three proposals were received for consideration. [13]
In May 2021 the newly elected mayor said he was focused instead on a "revamped bus network" but would not yet abandon the work done. [14]
The Wisbech and March 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.
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 in Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is part of the East of England Local Government Association and a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
The Stour Valley Railway is a partially closed railway line that ran between Shelford, near Cambridge and Marks Tey in Essex, England. The line opened in sections between 1849 and 1865. The route from Shelford to Sudbury closed on 6 March 1967 leaving only the section from Sudbury to Marks Tey, known as the Gainsborough Line, in operation.
A combined authority is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain delegated functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area.
Steven Philip Rotheram is a British Labour politician who has served as the Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017.
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is a combined authority for the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. It is a strategic authority with powers over transport, economic development and regeneration. The authority formally came into being on 17 June 2016.
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) is a combined authority within the West of England area, consisting of the local authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The body has its headquarters in the Redcliffe area of Bristol, and is led by the Mayor of the West of England. The most recent election for this post took place on 6 May 2021, when the Labour candidate Dan Norris was elected on a turnout of 36%.
The inaugural West of England mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the Mayor of the West of England metropolitan area. The area is made up of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Subsequent elections will be held every four years. The election was won by Conservative Tim Bowles. The overall turnout for the election was low, with only 29.7% of the electorate voting.
The inaugural Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The supplementary vote system was used to elect the mayor for a four-year term of office. Subsequent elections will be held in May 2021 and every four years after.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is a combined authority covering the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire in the East of England. The authority was established on 3 March 2017. The authority is led by the directly elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Sydney Metro West is a rapid transit underground rail project currently under construction in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It involves constructing a rail line from Hunter St in the northern Sydney City Centre (CBD) to Westmead in the western suburbs of Greater Sydney which will generally run parallel to the existing Main Suburban and Main Western railway lines, but via different suburbs and different stations, with the main aims being the doubling of rail capacity between the City Centre and Greater Western Sydney and the relief of overcrowding on the Western Line. The line will form part of the Sydney Metro network.
The Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region is a combined authority mayor or 'metro mayor', who chairs the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The first, and current, officeholder is Steve Rotheram, who was elected to the post in May 2017.
The 2021 West of England mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of the West of England, on the same day as other local elections across the country. It was the second election for the role. The mayor was elected by the supplementary vote system.
James Palmer is a former politician who was the first Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough between 2017 and 2021. As a councillor, he was previously leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council between May 2013 and May 2017. He was also a county councillor for the Soham and Fordham Villages electoral division of Cambridgeshire County Council between 2009 and 2017. Palmer was elected as the Conservative candidate on 4 May, 2017, however lost the subsequent 6 May 2021 election to Labour Party candidate Nik Johnson and announced his retirement from politics.
The North Wales Metro is a rail and bus transport improvement programme in north Wales. Styled as a "Metro", it is conceptually a multi-modal system with a combination of bus, heavy rail, and light rail services. It was initially focused on linking major settlements and employment areas of the north-east of Wales with the North West of England, with its hubs located in Wrexham, Chester and Deeside, although the programme has since expanded, with proposals extending to Anglesey in the north-west of Wales. The existing Borderlands line forms a core rail component of the network, where projects to increase connections, integrated access, and service frequency between Wrexham, Deeside and Liverpool are centred upon. The proposals were put forward in 2016 as is part of Welsh Labour's plan for north Wales. Labour has pledged to open the system by 2035. The proposals were included in the 2018 Wales & Borders franchise contest. It is the second of the three regional metros proposed by the Welsh Government to go ahead, after the South Wales Metro, and before the Swansea Bay and West Wales Metro. The project is described to be in its initial phases.
Nik Johnson is a British Labour Co-op politician and paediatrician who has served as the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough since 2021.
Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) is a light rail/tram system proposed to operate in Coventry. The system has been promoted as being the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. When finished, it will also be the first tram network to operate in Coventry since the Second World War.
The 2021 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election took place on 6 May 2021 as part of the 2021 local elections in the United Kingdom. All 61 councillors were elected from 59 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The election was held alongside a full election for Cambridge City Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and one-third of Peterborough City Council.
The Cambridge Congestion Charge, or Sustainable Travel Zone was a scrapped congestion pricing scheme proposed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership that was scheduled for completion in 2027/28. The scheme proposed a £5 minimum daily charge on vehicles entering the city of Cambridge, increased to £10 for vans, and to £50 for heavy goods vehicles and coaches. Exceptions are proposed for "emergency vehicles, disabled tax class vehicles and breakdown services", among others. The scheme became the subject of local controversy, with 58% of respondents recording their opposition to the scheme in an official consultation, which the GCP believed will help fund transport provision and reduce congestion. It was scrapped in September 2023 after Liberal Democrats blocked progress on the proposals.
