St Ives to Cambridge Railway/Busway = 02.01.08 =

[kent380]

I can't wait for the day they decide to upgrade it to a proper railway or tramway.... good luck!

[mrspeedoracer]

Please tell me this is a wind up, or have i lost the plot with what going on in this country that gave railways to the world PLEASE PLEASE THIS IS A WIND UP!!!!!!!!!!

[Bignadim]

Damn it, lay the rails and bolt them on to the concrete! Foundation and run some proper trams with overhead lines. Job dome why use diesel buses

[shaydap]

im not complaining ive got the worlds most expensive cycle route for work everyday,

Some cyclists need to use there brains tho and use the dirt track provided and not the bus tracks !!

[Benyboy001]

The funny thing is both sides (The Council and BAM Nutall) are just blaming eachother. This was supposed to open in February 09 but it will be lucky to open in February 2011 at this rate...

[jeffdarga100]

I guess this way the bus driver can text on his cell phone rather than steer the bus.

[keepinguptheday]

The busway is years late because of faults that were found after it was built. If the designers had built a test track first they could have identified any design faults and dealt with the inevitable problems of a new system before constructing the whole network. But they did not, and now they must sort out the problems on an already-constructed installation.

[utterbullspit]

I hear that this thing still hasn't opened yet. Damn shame.

[trainlover657]

the track way there! THE STATIONS WERE THERE!!! THEY WASTED MONEY RIPPING UP THIS TRACK AND A WASTE OF CONCRETE!! WTF?! ._.

[RangersLadForever]

the choice for the busway was moronic. The re-instatement of the railway would connect St Ives and Cambridge to Huntingdon and peterborough etc

GUIDED BUSWAY = RUBBISH

[NODDINGCAT]

@RangersLadForever

Nicely put!

[Trainbuff2008]

its obvious the workman of today don't know how to build a railway but know how to build anything out of concrete.

[NODDINGCAT]

its obvious

[geography27]

The alternative to this is route (maybe a while, but can still be done eventually) is a single line tram-train route (essentially trams that run on shared lines with trains), with passing loops to run along the route... from Huntingdon to St Ives to Cambridge, cheaper to build, less maintenence and faster services, and could be extended to other places too, what with it being a tram-train.

[geography27]

Im not from Cambridgeshire, and I've used guided buses elsewhere in Great Britain, and they're nothing spectacular. They're slower going down the guideway than on the road, except at peak times. May as well have a cheaper bus lane instead! Same with 'ftr'. A bus that 'looks' like a tram, but still gets stuck in traffic!

Looks/sounds like a waste of money to me, this Busway. Should've kept the railway line, which was cheaper to reopen, and could've linked Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge.

[Cruithne3753]

Interesting how the official Cambridge council YouTube channel for this thing has comments disabled...

[mvjedforest]

What a tragic and expensive waste of a viable railway line. Typical of this country! Excellent vid of the construction phases. Well done 5*

[Intransitman]

Some Paris metro lines use both rails and rubber tires, though this project is just a fiasco.

[gallafey]

wat a pease of crap these guided busways are Labour r seriosly trying do a way with the train & the tram, Labour was running the country in the 1930s when the tram started disapearinng from every city & town exsept blackpool, 1960s Labour anounsed thay were closing the railways and now most town Like Leigh have railway, trams & trains r better buses, buses break down alot buses stoll and get stuck in traffic jams

[NODDINGCAT]

1930s was really the heyday of the tram. Most systems got such a battering in WW2 that they weren't worth repairing. London lost her (old school) trams in 1952.

Curious spelling in your posting.

The Guided bus was the brain child of the TORY county council.

[JollyRodders]

Guided busways as opposed to trams might have something to do with First Group lobbying the then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling and demonstrating the "FTR" bus concept. Couldn't have trams competing with First group bus routes now could we...??

[NODDINGCAT]

The buses in the Cambridge Area are run by Stagecoach and Whippet.

[atraherne]

Leeds is fighting for a tram and may not get one for years to come and that is a major city of about 1.5 mil with a metropolitan pop of about 2.5. So you see, Cambridge is extremily unlikely to ever get a light rail. If it was France or many other Europian country it probably would.

[atraherne]

The guided busway corridor serves a few villages and very small towns. What a rediculous waste of money, although it may be a great service for those who live in that area, the ratio of advanatge is probably 1:100 compared to a rail link.

As for a guided busway in the city, no room to do it, a light rail tram would be the most effective option but this is the UK and the UK will never fund lightrail for any city below half a million population, and usually much more than that.

[atraherne]

There probably is a place for guided busways in small cities.

However it was a serious mistake to build a guided busway at Cambridge as there is no actual guided busway in the city, its in a rural rail corridor that was supposed to be re-opened as a high speed link between Oxford & Cambridge running through Milton Keynes & Bedford, these cities are at the forefront of technology and the idea was to team them up to compete together in the global market.

[ryanthescooterguy]

I wish the Cambridgeshire guided buses were tried on the Adelaide O-Bahn!

[NODDINGCAT]

They are testing them on routes 15 45 and 55 to St Ives at the moment, but up the A14 not the busway.

The seats are comfy and the buses have internet and aircon.

On the negative the lights inside are pretty UV so it makes reading hard.

And the eco impart of the 'bio' fuel is higher than peterol, because so few buses use the bio stuff.

[ryanthescooterguy]

If the double-decker versions were tried on the Adelaide O-Bahn, they would be too tall to pass safely under the bridges...

[WrongRoadRailways]

Well, then they'd become single deckers after the first bridge...

[Cruithne3753]

Unfortunately they're trying to push this shite on us in Bristol too.

[mrmeldrewstuntdouble]

I hope that the busway falls flat on its arse,like the stupid white elephant that it is,would have been much better & cheaper to have reopened it as a a railway.

Fuck The Guided Busway.

[seamaster27]

We've all seen buses broken down at the side of the road, but what is going to happen when the inevitable occurs and one conks out on this 'eer new guided busway? The whole thing will just come to a grinding halt.

[scottytoohottie123]

you hit the nail on the head there

[Intransitman]

This project is a waste of money it would make more sense just to reopen the railway line.

[Condorcounter]

That's disgusting. It is going to cost a zillion times more to build and operate than an LRT or tram line...not to mention the ongoing higher labour costs (one driver per bus) versus one driver per multi-car train, and also high petroleum costs and GHG emissions.

[HarstonLegends]

would have been alot fuking cheaper just to put a train back on the original tracks rather than this which causes some much traffic jam wehen eva cambridge gets busy

[atraherne]

conclusion is that it is an attractive option to government to people off applying for a rail or tram to be reinstated as they may end up with a makeshift busway, it just looks so tacky, buses were never built to run along rail corridors!

Further to this, over the next 20yrs government is pushing a major housing growth throughout the UK with certain places getting a major housing boost, Cambridge is set to grow a lot so even greater reason why rail or tram would have been the preffered option

[atraherne]

With pro busway politicians saying, these cities are too small to warrent a tram. This is why they all used to have a tram system that even ran through tight narrow streets generations ago when all these towns or cities were a fraction of the size they are now both in terms of population and urban size.

I really have no idea why they push such a makeshift form of transport onto the public against their well expresses wishes. I know the busways cost more in terms of tracking so my only

[atraherne]

Its amazing, how can they justify the busway as a cheaper alternative to a rail route or a tram route. The amount of concrete there is enough to build a small city. Rail of any desription would have cost a fraction of this.

Furthermore, the public prefer to ride on a smooth rail, train or tram is an attractive form of transport, buses are ugly and a very un-popular mode of transport. With regard to comments I have heard in the past of Cambridge or other places like Portsmouth or Luton

[petersocool123]

zzzzzzz....how boring

[cyw2008]

monotonehell, well done someone talking sense.

NODDINGCAT, please can we have another excellent video update? This one shows how well the project is progressing, but sadly is out of date.

It would be good to see how well the contractors are progressing, and your video shows quite clearly, how big a project it is and how well it must be run to make the progress it has.  Keep up the good work...

The poject need more support like yours.

[Joolzratbag]

Petroleum will run out in the next 25 - 50 years. Non-renewable.. ("Currently only about 1 barrel of oil is being discovered for every 5 or 6 extracted, and according to ChevronTexaco.")

How can this possibly be the best solution?!

Nobody supporting the bus route is speaking any sense at all!

The government has showed a total lack of forethought with this hairbrained scheme, plus disregard toward the disruption and pollution of all the wildlife of the 2 nature reserves it passes through!

[cyw2008]

Oh, how can people say supporters of the bus route are making no sense with statements like that...lol.

Don't believe the hysteria about oil running out in 25 - 50 years. Oil companies want you to believe that they are scratching around for the last dregs so they are in conrol of the prices (same as most comodities).

Trains / trams do not run on fresh air. They require energy, and most of that is from fossel fuel. Renewable energy is a PR stunt it's so insignificant for our demands.

[cyw2008]

The only valid option if you want low pollution energy is Nuclear (and that's a hot topic).

Trains, trams produce pollution just away from the point of use.

New buses however are very low polluters'. New Diesel engines fitted CRT technology all but eradicate PM 10s. They do output CO2 (a hot issue, I know but so too do power stations). However that aside, CO2 is food and will not harm plants and wildlife. So the bus is the cleanest option.

[NODDINGCAT]

Lies!^^

[cyw2008]

Yes I agree with you NODDINGCAT, stories about oil is down to the last drop, buses are the polluting devil and trains do not pollute are just lies. Well said.!!

[NODDINGCAT]

One day, when the oil runs out, the only cities that'll function, will be the ones with trams and metros!

Buses are yesterday!

[cyw2008]

One day when the oil runs out, trains and trams will be stationary just the same as cars, lorries and busses.

Where do you think the majority of our electricity comes from? Don't make your self look silly saying wind / renewable enerjy. anyone who know anything about engineering will know it's a PR stunt that produces far to little energy to be a real contender.

Or are you a supporter of re-starting a Nuclear program new powerstations?

[brixham9]

Search O-Bahn in You Tube and view the operarational system in Adelaide to see the benfits of a guided busway. As long as the service provider maintains enough buses and high frequency it will be a success. In Adelaide it is the only sector of Public transport to increase usage. The catchment area is very large and most people in the catchment have a bus within 600 metres of their door before entering the guideway try doing that with a rail service.

[NODDINGCAT]

Ha Ha!

[monotonehell]

I live in Adelaide where we've had the OBahn since 1986. It's far better than a train for what it does. You have to remember that all the passengers do not live at the train station. They live away from the tracks. A train cant leave the tracks and needs to be fed by buses anyway. Your love of trains is blinding you to the benefits of a guided busway.

Take brixham9's advice and look up the OBahn. Over 20 years of service and still hasn't run out of capacity.

[cyw2008]

In addition to my last comment, I would like to say that you have produced a very high quality video there. The photography is very good, and is shows just how much work has been completed on the Guided Busway. Considering it is 6 months old, I did not realise how well the contractors had got on with the project. It's really starting to take shape now. Good work all round.

[cyw2008]

I really can't see why people are so infavour of a train or tram over the bus route. A train would only take you to the station which is usless for most people, and it would be less frequent. A tram is a bus on steel wheels. It would mean ripping up the roads in Cambridge, and would be less flexible. As you can't steer it, it would suffer MORE from the traffic problems. The only good case for rails, was the ability of people to live in an image of the past.

[bwhugul]

Steel wheel on steel rail is more efficient than rubber tyre on road. There is much less friction.

And people are far more likely to decide to get on board a train or tram than a bus (if they consider leaving the car in the garage at all). Buses have a poor social image. And it would not even be able to go as fast as a tram-train (the latest of these can do 62mph). The guided bus I think will only do 43mph.

And if 'Carpet Track' had been used for the city centre, building wouldn't take long.

[cyw2008]

You first statement destroys the second. Yes steel on steel has less friction. Therefore, a train or tram cannot accelrate to or stop from speed as quicky. This means that a stopping service (which is needed otherwise the service will not be flexible enough to be used), will never get to top speed. Oh and the bus can do 60 mph.

Also tram track (no matter what type is used)in the city will suffer worse in jams, a tram cannot steer round obstructions like a bus can.

[Joolzratbag]

... and then you will have to rip the roads up in approx. 50 years time anyway, when there is no diesel left for the buses to run on. Only trams/trains makes any sense whatsoever. 

Soon enough, roads will be the only image of the past for your descendants!

[stevedn1]

A bus every 86.5 seconds on the bus way - how safe can this be? Cast Iron only wanted a train every 15 minutes. The trains would carry more passengers and use less land than a busway.

[cyw2008]

Well considering the safe distance on a motorway is 2 seconds at 70 mph. 86.5 seconds is positively a safety factor deluxe with a proverbial mile added (literally, at 60mph, 60 seconds = 1 mile). So you drive on the motorway leaving over a mile gap to the car in front?

A guided bus has the same level of stopping control a bus / car / lorry does on the road. Leaving an extra safety factor for smooth concrete. But a mile gap is, I think enough.

Oh and trains would go to the WRONG place.

[stevedn1]

Funny how you can have a Histon & Impington bus stop but not a railway station. The busway uses the whole width of the railway land because it has a third "service road". That's why the platforms at Histon were demolished.

[kexxykellie]

Which St Ives are we talking about here? Cornwall or Cambridgeshire??

Or the US..?

[NODDINGCAT]

What a pointless question.

Read the text!

[escapeephil]

It's a total waste of time and money. I also don't know anyone who want's this.Dont travel on it I say. Once again a council that hasnt a clue! Poor.

[bwhugul]

We'll just have to see what happens. It'll be interesting to see if passenger numbers on buses on the A14 corridor rise. I think it will, but not by very much (maybe 5 or 10%). I don't think it will be a modal shift, because of the problems of Cambridge congestion.

But if fares were kept low, and there were incentives not to take the car in, speeds would improve. The buses would no longer get stuck in traffic.

[trekker0612]

Well, I live in Cambridge, worked on the St.Ives line when it was still being used to transport sand 20 years ago, and think the guided bus is the best use for it now.

[NODDINGCAT]

Your thoughts are misguided.

[trekker0612]

Very original.

[EcirpWehttam]

i understand that you are upset by the loss of your station but I think you're being a bit harsh. Sometimes things are done for the best and perhaps having this road is a good thing. Besides at lesat your blasted station will be in use now... so what's all the fuss about? Yes, I know that trains or trams would have been better use for it but at least they haven't torn it down... isn't this what you'be been fighting for?

[BVEboxcars]

I live in Cambridge and don't know one person who supports this crazy scheme.

[ihadaralf]

The entire scheme's a joke. Inconvenient in it's construction and dubious in it's success, the county council will pay for this in time. It's pants, from the drawing board, to the point at which it becomes a great white elephant. More money than sense I feel.

[markimark03]

this thing is such a disaster for Cambridgeshire, we're going to be regretting it for years to come

[parallelepipete]

It's madness. This is all about perceived running costs and to hell with the higher speeds and capacity of rail, bringing Cambridge closer to the ECML, and freight-carrying capacity. Watch in a few years' time as councillors justify yet more A14 upgrades to cope with the freight that can't travel on a busway, and the passengers that won't.

ravenseft, I share your feelings. I hope it fails so spectacularly that no-one proposes such a scheme ever again.

[ravenseft]

Sorry but I hope this scheme completely fails, that nobody uses these pointless buses and that the whole route becomes derelict once more. Local authorities still don't understand the basic idea that people will ONLY use buses for short journeys.

[prawn3944]

The word crap comes to mind!

How is this going to be better than a railway?

[boardfreaks]

all that money ... and we still have to see how many people use it. I mean, last time I looked, people still like to drive their own car to work - down the A14 - even if it means sitting in traffic. I once tried to get people to car share with me and it was hopeless... so, we'll see how popular this is.

Bev in Sutton.

[lomajac06]

what wrong with a fast normal train

[markimark03]

it's really sad to see east anglia being paved over and concreted and filled with thousands of houses and people like an laboratory experiment, and to destroy the old railway for a gimmicky busway which won't do anything to resolve cambridgeshire's congestion problem... it's just awful. good video by the way.

[NODDINGCAT]

me too!

it sucks....

[vegas2004]

Great video.Still think the guided bus is a crap idea.

[scottytoohottie123]

the infamous railway,i know it well i live in st ives lol scotty and libby:0)ps i shall post you my st ives video