Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor since January 2025.

The Oxford–Cambridge Corridor is a national priority for the Government. We believe that growth here will boost the whole UK economy, creating jobs, enhancing connectivity and opportunities across the UK.

On East West Rail (EWR), major construction work has completed for Connection Stage 1 and in June 2025 the line opened to freight trains. In March 2025 the Department announced Chiltern as the line operator and is working with partners to confirm a start date for the first EWR services between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

On future stages of the project, East West Rail Company completed its third non-statutory consultation in January 2025 and set out an update on proposals for the railway in November 2025. Work is currently progressing on a Spring consultation on East West Rail to take place shortly.

The new Cambridge South station is expected to open in June 2026, providing vital connectivity to the Cambridge biomedical campus and the wider region and enhancing travel options for both local residents and visitors. The station is expected to serve up to 1.8 million passengers each year, improving access to economic opportunities and housing development in the region. The station will also have built in-capacity to support future East West rail services.

In October 2025, the Government announced a £120 million funding contribution to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passenger services. This will see regular services from Oxford starting in 2029/2030 and serving new stations at Littlemore and Cowley to support growth, housing and innovation in the city and across the region.

Turning to strategic roads, construction of the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement has continued and we expect it to open in 2027. When complete, the scheme will provide quicker, safer and more reliable journeys for thousands of road users every day and help give more access to jobs in Milton Keynes, Cambridge and everywhere in between.