The Isaac Newton Line
The Isaac Newton Line is a bi-directional Light Rail line extending from Cambourne in the west to Haverhill in the southeast, which would be delivered in three Phases. Phase One would be ~20 km in length, extending from the Girton Interchange to Granta Park via Eddington, the University West Campus, Grange Road, City Centre, Cambridge Central Rail Station, Addenbrookes, Shelford and Sawston.
A tunnel within the historic City core would extend 2.6 km from a portal near Cambridge Central Rail Station in the south to a portal in the Grange Road area, with the remainder of the Phase One line overground (~ 17 km). The Isaac Newton Line would convert the existing guided busway from Central Rail Station to Addenbrookes, with stops proposed at Hills Road, Cambridge Assessment, Long Road, and Addenbrookes Hospital (co-located with the proposed Cambridge South Rail Station). The Isaac Newton Line also serves Hills Road and Long Road Sixth Form Colleges.
Phase Two of the Isaac Newton Line would extend from the Girton Interchange to Cambourne. Phase Three would extend from Granta Park to Haverhill.
The Isaac Newton Line offers the exciting opportunity of a fast connection between all three campuses of the modern University of Cambridge: the West Campus, the central Colleges, Departments and Administration, and the Biomedical Campus at Addenbrookes.
The Darwin Line
Phase One of the Darwin Line would include the southern spur of the converted guided busway to Trumpington (2 km). This could be accomplished quickly because the alignment exists, and would eliminate the costly repairs needed for the defective busway. Conversion to Light Rail would enable reliable, frequent and faster travel to Addenbrookes from the city centre and from Trumpington.
The Darwin Line would include stops at Clay Farm, Trumpington and Trumpington Meadows (near M11). Relocating the existing Trumpington Park & Ride should be considered, the location of which is now anachronistic. We have not researched this in any depth at this stage, and are open to options for how this part of the scheme could best be realised to meet community needs.
Phase Two of the Darwin Line would extend from the University of Cambridge West Campus to the Science Park and Cambridge North Station (6.5 km). This line would also include stops at Darwin Green residential development, Histon Road, and the Cambridge Regional College. Passive provision for the alignment has already been made as part of wider city planning, and we suggest Cambridge Light Rail would be ideal along this route.
View the Cambridge Light Rail Isaac Newton Line and Darwin Line, and how they would delivered in phases …
Download the Isaac Newton / Darwin Lines city network (Version 10.2, 17 Nov 2022) as pdf (377 KB)
Download the Cambridgeshire Regional network (Version 10.2, 17 Nov 2022) as pdf (540 KB)