Cambridge & St. Ives Branch

The Cambridge & 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 only to last until 1970; the railway continued to be used for freight until the 1990s. The railway now forms the alignment of the northern section of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: a bus rapid transit scheme.

Stations

Stations listed northwest to south, in the 'up' direction

• St. Ives – opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
• Swavesey – opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
• Long Stanton (or Longstanton) – opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
• Oakington – opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
• Histon – opened 17 August 1847, closed 5 October 1970.
• Cambridge – opened 1845

What remains

Much of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway route has absorbed the old railway, with the only remaining section left untouched between the Fen Line and a (now-disused) level crossing over Milton Road. This alignment could, however, be utilised for an extension of the guided busway to meet the proposed Chesterton interchange; the construction of the new railway station at Chesterton is proposed for 2012/13.

Further reading

• Disused Stations, Subterranea Britannica
• The Busway, Cambridgeshire County Council
• CAST.IRON, a pressure group committed to reopening the railway