Guided Busway To Be 'Partially Closed' In One Direction

The County Council will be temporarily closing a section of the Guided Busway in one direction between Cambridge Railway Station and Addenbrooke’s.

The inbound only track (closest to the maintenance track) will be closed – the busway will be used from the railway station to Addenbrooke’s and then buses will use Hills Road on the return journey.

This follows ongoing communications with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and as part of our continuous review of safety on the busway.

Cllr Peter McDonald, Chair of the Highways and Transport Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “We have taken the extremely difficult decision to partially close the southern section of the Guided Busway while we wait for the outcome of the independent safety review, following our ongoing communications with HSE.

“This is a temporary measure while the review we have commissioned is carried out.

"When we receive the recommendations of that review, we will carefully consider any future actions that are required. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to try and pre-empt the outcome of the review at this point. However, we continue in our duty to keep the safety of the Guided Busway under continuous review and to make any additional changes and introduce realistic temporary measures we feel able to take to reduce any risks further.

"We have already considered fencing and closing the maintenance track, and after weighing up all the risks we feel this partial closure is the most appropriate short-term, temporary measure that can be implemented while the safety review is completed."

From mid-January, expected to be 17 January, the temporary partial closure will come into effect for inbound buses only and further measures, such as painting new lines, installing signs and a temporary barrier to stop people from walking and cycling on the track that isn’t being used will be installed.

The independent safety review is expected to conclude in February.