The Cambridge Growth Company (CGC) and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) have launched the preparation of a Project level Strategic Outline Business Case for a potential Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system for Greater Cambridge. This is said to be an important step in developing a long-term, sustainable transport solution for the region – and it could be a tram or light rail system, or alternatively bus rapid transit or automated systems.
CGC has been commissioned by the DfT and HM Treasury to develop a study into transport needs and options. The study will assess MRT solutions to support growth in the area, as well as contributing towards the government’s wider ambitions and commitments to an infrastructure first approach to development and growth to unlock the area’s full economic potential.
The study will:
- Define the strategic context and transport case for change, based on a robust evidence base.
- Identify and appraise a longlist of transport options, from lower scale interventions to full MRT modal possibilities, including tram, light rail, bus rapid transit, and automated systems
- Develop a transparent shortlist of viable options, assessed for their ability to support the long term growth of the city, feasibility, deliverability, value for money, and environmental impact.
- Produce a HM Treasury Green Book which sets out high-level costs, benefits and outcomes, funding strategies, and a clear preferred way forward.
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said: “When I was elected, I promised to get Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving through action that makes a real difference. Today’s work by the Cambridge Growth Company and the Combined Authority on Mass Rapid Transit is an important step in showing that.
“Greater Cambridge is expanding, with one of the country’s most innovative economies, but its transport system hasn’t kept up. To keep creating jobs, opportunities and breakthroughs, we need transformative infrastructure investment.
“Our Local Growth Plan sets an ambition to triple the size of the region’s economy, and better transport will be central to achieving it.
“This Mass Rapid Transit study will provide an honest assessment of what a modern, reliable, connected system should look like and give us the evidence to make the right long term decisions. Sticking plaster solutions won’t do. This study restarts a long stalled conversation and supports the Government’s wider growth ambitions.”
Philip Harker, Technical Director at CGC , said: “Congestion in Cambridge is already holding back our communities and our economy. Employers are telling us that investment decisions are being delayed until credible solutions are found. That is why the Cambridge Growth Company was established, to bring focus and capacity to complex infrastructure challenges like this. Working with government departments and the CPCA, we’re moving at pace to explore Mass Rapid Transit as a viable means of easing pressure across the whole transport system.
“This Strategic Outline Business Case is a crucial first step in making the case for the investment needed to help people move efficiently and sustainably into and across the city.”
The early phase MRT study will be factored into preparations for the Greater Cambridge Transport Strategy, led by the CPCA. This is due to for approval in November 2026.