Transport in Cambridge

Roads

King’s College Chapel, seen from The Backs

Because of its rapid growth since the 20th century, Cambridge has a congested road network. Several major roads intersect at Cambridge. The M11 motorway from east London terminates here. The A14 (formerly A604 and A45) east-west trunk route skirts the northern edge of the city. This is a major freight route connecting the port of Felixstowe on the east coast with the Midlands, North Wales, the west coast and Ireland. The A14 is considered by many local people to be dangerous, and unnecessarily congested. This is particularly true of the section between Huntingdon and Cambridge where the east-west traffic is merged with the A1 to M11 north-south traffic on just a 2-lane dual carriageway. The A10, a former Roman road from north London, passes round the city on its way to Ely and King’s Lynn. Other roads connect the city with Bedford, St Neots, Newmarket and Colchester.

The city has a ring road about 2km in diameter, inside which there are traffic restrictions intended to improve conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and bus users and to reduce congestion. It has a well developed park and ride bus service encouraging motorists to park near the city’s edge.

Rail

Cambridge railway station was built in 1845 with a platform designed to take two full-length trains. Cambridge has direct rail links to King’s Cross (via Hitchin and the East Coast Main Line) and Liverpool Street (via the West Anglia Main Line) stations in London. It is also linked to the cities of Kings Lynn and Ely (via the Fen Line), Norwich (via the Breckland Line), Liverpool, Birmingham, Ipswich and as well as London Stansted Airport. The important UK rail hub of Peterborough is also within reach of Cambridge. The railway service connecting Cambridge and Oxford, known as the Varsity Line, was discontinued in 1968.

Air

Cambridge City Airport is owned by Marshall Aerospace, who are capable of adapting and fitting out military transports, airliners and corporate jets. The runway can accommodate an unladen Boeing 747 or MD-11, but there is no regular scheduled service and it is mostly used by business and leisure flights. In Summer 2004 a charter service to Jersey was operated by Aurigny Air Services using Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. A dealer in fibreglass-moulded light monoplanes is also based here. Removal of Marshalls to a site away from the city, with development of the airport site for housing, is a possibility over 5-10 years.

Cycling

As a university town lying on fairly flat ground and with traffic congestion, Cambridge has a large number of cyclists. Many residents also prefer cycling to driving in the narrow, busy streets, giving the city the highest level of cycle use in the UK. According to the 2001 census, 25% of residents travelled to work by cycle. There are many cycle paths within the city, as well as many cycle routes in the countryside surrounding Cambridge, and the city is now linked to the National Cycle Network. The main organisation campaigning to improve conditions for cyclists in Cambridge is Cambridge Cycling Campaign.