77-600: The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway is a guided busway that connects Cambridge , Huntingdon and St Ives in Cambridgeshire , England. It is the longest guided busway in the world, surpassing the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia. Two guided sections make up 16 miles (25 km) of the route. The northern section, which uses the course of the former Cambridge and Huntingdon railway , runs through
154-698: A " white elephant ". A court case with BAM Nuttall , the main contractor, was settled by Cambridgeshire County Council in August 2013. The busway links Cambridge , in East Anglia, with St Ives , Huntingdon and Northstowe (a proposed new town ) to the north-west, and with the M11 motorway to the south. The route includes two sections of guided operation, a bus-only road and other places with on-street operation in conventional bus lanes . New park and ride sites have been built at Longstanton and at St Ives, with
231-508: A Busway Service, since September 2023 some services were extended to St Ives and use the Guided Busway between Longstanton Park & Ride and St Ives Park & Ride. Operated by Stagecoach, Route 5 operates between Cambridge City Centre, Bar Hill , Longstanton , Longstanton Park & Ride and St Ives Park & Ride. In mid-2020, Stagecoach replaced several branches of the busway A & B with connecting routes to locations not on
308-503: A brine tank, rather than solid grit. By August 2008 approximately 6 miles (10 km) of the busway had been constructed, between Longstanton and Milton Road (Science Park). On 30 November 2009, road signs directing traffic from the A14 towards the future busway park and ride sites started to be installed. Other signage related to the busway had required subsequent height adjustments, and spelling corrections. Trees had also blown over, blocking
385-462: A central reservation of 80 centimetres (31 in). Between Cambridge and St Ives there is also a 4-metre (13 ft) wide (maximum) bridleway/maintenance track to one side and a 70-centimetre (28 in) evacuation strip to the other creating a total width of 10.7 metres (35 ft). Where necessary it is narrower; for example through the Trumpington cutting where there is a single busway with
462-577: A guided bus scheme, SuperCAM, abandoned their plans in 2003. Arup prepared the Transport and Works Act (TWA) application presented in late 2003. A public inquiry was held in September–October 2004. The scheme was supported by five bus and coach operators, and 20 other organisations and individuals. A total of 2,735 objections were received: from local councils, public bodies, transport interests, local pressure groups and individuals who criticised
539-514: A guided busway along the old railway lines. Construction began in March 2007 and it was opened on 7 August 2011 after a succession of delays and cost overruns . The original cost estimate of £116 million rose to £181 million by December 2010. An independent review of the project was announced on 21 September 2010, in which the Cambridge MP , Julian Huppert , described the busway as
616-460: A half hourly Sunday service being provided by route D. The service continued hourly until November 2018, when it was fully replaced by diverted A services operating as D. From February to August 2019 Whippet operated 4 buses an hour from Cambridge to Cambridge Railway Station and Addenbrooke’s Hospital (with the first three morning and last three evening buses also serving Swavesey and operating via Orchard Park and stops on Histon Road). This service
693-450: A minimum service frequency between 07:00 and 19:00 each weekday. Specially adapted buses are used: the driver does not need to hold the steering wheel on the guided sections of the busway. A total of 2,500,000 trips were made in the first year of operation. The busway was proposed in the 2001 Cambridge-Huntingdon Multi-Modal Study, which recommended widening the A14 road and the construction of
770-401: A narrower maintenance-only track giving a total width of approximately 6.3 metres (21 ft). In 2010, proposals were made to reduce the width of the bridleway, narrowing it to 3 metres (9.8 ft) and increasing the height in order to combat flooding. Elevated sections have two evacuation strips at busway level with the bridleway/maintenance track at the base of the embankment. The bridleway
847-445: A normal road. Guidance is achieved using the guidewheel-on-concrete-kerb method, with the busway constructed from pre-cast concrete sections that are 15 metres (49 ft) long and 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) wide. Additionally, the guide wheels will aid close positioning at slightly modified bus stops within the on-street sections. The busway is 6 metres (20 ft) wide, consisting of two 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) wide tracks separated by
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#1732766094989924-404: A public review was announced. At the start of July 2010, it was reported that neither section would open before 2011; the bus operators reacted to the news angrily, suggesting that they might seek to reduce the minimum level of service that had been previously committed to. At a council meeting on 9 July 2010, a decision was taken to concentrate on completion of the southern section in order to get
1001-603: A ready resale market. The kerb-guided system maintains a narrow track while still enabling buses to pass one another at speed. Consequently, kerb-guided track can be fitted into former double-track rail alignments without the requirement for additional land-take that might have been necessary were a disused railway to be converted into a public highway. Examples include the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway and Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit ; in both schemes, it has proved possible to provide space for
1078-402: A regulated maximum size in order to freely navigate public roads. The kerb-guided bus (KGB) guidance mechanism is a development of the early flangeways , pre-dating railways. The Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad of 1809 therefore has a claim to be the earliest guided busway. There were earlier flangeways, but they did not carry passengers. There are a few examples of guided buses around
1155-611: A roadway. The ART system is frequently referred to as a "trackless tram" and occasionally as an "optically-guided bus". Other experimental systems have non-mechanical guidance, such as sensors or magnets buried in the roadway. In 2004, Stagecoach Group signed a deal with Siemens to develop an optical guidance system for use in the United Kingdom. Two bus lines in Eindhoven , Netherlands, are used by Phileas vehicles. Line 401 from Eindhoven station to Eindhoven Airport
1232-440: A section near Oakington. The vehicles tested included a Wrightbus -bodied single decker owned by FirstGroup , a Plaxton President -bodied Dennis Trident 2 double decker from Lothian Buses , and a white Alexander Dennis Enviro500 triple-axled double decker. The test vehicles were fitted with sensors to assess vibration levels and ride quality. Hot weather testing of the track took place during May/June 2010. In addition to
1309-416: A tarmac cycle track/bridleway alongside some sections of the route. The final scheme includes bus priority and real-time passenger information system displays at busway bus stops, and subsequent separate funding and works to better link those stops to local businesses for pedestrians and cyclists. A total of 2,500,000 trips were made in the first year of operation, which Atkins reported was 40% higher than
1386-698: A ticket would be a first, but would take a while to perfect. A smartcard-based ticket that offered some of the promised features was available, but was withdrawn in November 2018 when Stagecoach became the only operator on the busway. In 2001 the Cambridge-Huntingdon Multi-Modal Study (CHUMMS) recommended widening of the A14 road and building a guided busway along the old Cambridge and Huntingdon railway , which had been closed to passengers since 1970 and to all traffic since 1993. Since closure there had been proposals to reinstate
1463-636: A wide multi-user path for leisure use alongside the kerb-guided double track, all within the boundaries of the disused railway route. Both the Cambridgeshire and Leigh-Salford-Manchester schemes have reported greatly increased levels of patronage (both on the buses themselves and the adjacent paths), high levels of modal transfer of travellers from private car use, and high levels of passenger satisfaction. Tram-like guided busways ( rubber-tyred trams ) include: Cambridge and Huntingdon railway Cambridge The Cambridge and St Ives branch (as it
1540-475: Is 9 km (5.6 mi) long, consists largely of concrete bus lanes and has about 30 Phileas stop platforms. Line 402 from Eindhoven station to Veldhoven branches off from line 401 and adds another 6 km (3.7 mi) of bus lanes and about 13 stops. Some years ago, the regional authority for urban transport in the Eindhoven region (SRE) decided to discontinue the use of magnetic guidance system. In 2014
1617-447: Is a means of approaching light rail performance with a fast and economical set-up. It enables buses to have precision-docking capabilities as efficient as those of light rail and reduces dwell times, making it possible to drive the vehicle to a precise point on a platform according to an accurate and reliable trajectory. The distance between the door steps and the platform is optimized not to exceed 5 centimetres (2 in). Level boarding
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#17327660949891694-527: 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
1771-627: Is then possible, and there is no need to use a mobile ramp for people with mobility impairments. The Optiguide system, an optical guidance device developed by Siemens Transportation Systems , has been in revenue service since 2001 in Rouen and Nîmes (only at stations), France, and has been fitted to trolleybuses in Castellon (Spain) since June 2008. Another system was introduced in 2017. Called Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) and developed by CRRC , it uses optical systems to follow markers on
1848-419: Is usable by people on foot, bicycle and horse. The 6-metre (20 ft) width of the busway is narrower than the 9.3-metre (31 ft) width of a single-carriageway rural all-purpose road built to 2009 standards (excluding attendant verges and footpaths/cyclepaths in both cases). A conventional road would have been too wide to fit on top of existing railway embankments and across the under-bridges along parts of
1925-599: The Cambridge First newspaper staged a race between the guided bus and a car travelling from Cambridge to St Ives to see which was quicker to reach the end of the track. The car beat the bus by ten minutes, although he noted that the trip had not been held during rush hour, during which the A14 road is noted for congestion. A journey from St Ives to the Cambridge Science Park was found to take 20 minutes. The busway and cycle track officially opened to
2002-620: The Environmental Impact Assessment , supported the rail alternative or objected to the scheme in principle. The scheme was approved by the Government in December 2005 by the granting of a Transport and Works Act Order. In March 2007, the then Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander officially opened a manufacturing plant at Longstanton that would produce the 6,000–7,000 concrete beams for the busway. Each beam
2079-561: The River Great Ouse as a replacement for the 200-tonne wrought-iron railway viaduct removed in 2007. There would later be a dispute between the Conservative -controlled County Council and opposition Liberal Democrat councillors as to whether the structure was structurally sound, with a claim that water draining off the track over the viaduct could lead to crumbling. In March 2008 existing guided vehicles were trialled along
2156-700: The A and R have a combined 10-minute frequency to Addenbrookes Hospital. Operated by Whippet, Route U was launched in July 2016, and is subsidised by the University of Cambridge . It currently operates from the Biomedical Campus and Addenbrooke’s Hospital to Cambridge Railway Station , Queens' College, the West Cambridge Site and Eddington. There are up to 4 buses an hour during the day Mondays to Fridays, up to three buses an hour during
2233-405: The adjacent Northstowe development. The co-building subsequently won an award at the 2012 Green Apple Built Environment and Architectural Heritage Awards. On 12 January 2012, the busway celebrated its one millionth passenger. The intersections of the busway with the regular roads are equipped with prominently signed " car traps " to prevent motorists driving onto the guide beams and interfering with
2310-516: The alignment of the northern section of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway : a bus rapid transit scheme. Stations listed northwest to south, in the 'up' direction On its 2011 opening, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway route absorbed the majority of the old railway between St Ives and the point at which the bus joined public roads at Milton Road . The remaining section between the former level crossing over Milton Road and
2387-403: The bands of paint on the ground representing the reference path. The signals obtained by the camera are sent to an onboard computer, which combines them with dynamic parameters of the vehicle (speed, yaw rate, wheel angle). The calculator transmits commands to the guidance motor located on the steering column of the vehicle to control its path in line with that of the reference. Optical guidance
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2464-428: The bus engage vertical kerbs on either side of the guideway. These guide wheels push the steering mechanism of the bus, keeping it centralised on the track. Away from the guideway, the bus is steered in the normal way. The start of the guideway is funnelled from a wide track to guideway width. This system permits high-speed operation on a narrow guideway and precise positioning at boarding platforms, facilitating access for
2541-500: The bus fleet, Cambridgeshire County Council trialled and purchased a specially adapted "guided gritter " lorry for use during periods of cold weather, which will spray salt water rather than rock salt . In November 2011 this was augmented with a customised "Multihog" gritter/snowplough vehicle from Ireland designed for clearing the accompanying maintenance track and cycleway. The Multihog is powered by 90-horsepower engine allowing it to travel at up to 25 mph (40 km/h) and features
2618-493: The bus traffic. An extension of the busway, to meet the new Cambridge North railway station , was started in July 2014. The authority already had the necessary powers to build the extension. Originally scheduled to be open in December 2015, the railway station linked to the busway opened in May 2017. The project was budgeted to cost £ 116.2 million, with central government providing £92.5 million. Cost-benefit analysis of
2695-419: The buses are guided along the former Cambridge-Oxford railway (The Varsity Line) south to Addenbrooke's Hospital and Trumpington Park and Ride. This section last saw a scheduled passenger train in 1967. The busway is designed for buses travelling at 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), slowing to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) where it crosses public highways. Bus drivers are asked to drive as they would do on
2772-502: The busway follows the path of the former Cambridge and Huntingdon railway to a new park and ride site south of the town, where it becomes guided. The buses stop at Swavesey , Longstanton, Oakington and Histon , with a request stop for the nature reserve at Fen Drayton . Should a proposed new town at Northstowe be built, further stops would be opened, with the Northstowe developers Gallagher Construction being encouraged to build
2849-578: The busway route near Swavesey. The twelve junctions on the route fitted with bus priority traffic signals were tested on 16 December 2010 and worked as expected. In January 2009 it was announced that the scheduled opening of the scheme had been delayed until late summer 2009 owing to bad weather and flooding in the Fen Drayton area. As a result of complications with a bridge at Hills Road in Cambridge, traffic restrictions there continued throughout
2926-476: The busway through the development beforehand. Upon entering Cambridge the route diverges. One route has stops at Cambridge Regional College and Cambridge Science Park , before it rejoins the road network into central Cambridge. The other joins the road network at Orchard Park (formerly Arbury Park), before continuing to the city centre. The two forks converge at Cambridge bus station for the journey to Cambridge railway station . Beyond Cambridge railway station
3003-447: The busway. In one incident a cyclist cycling on the guide beams, rather than the cycle path next to the busway, was struck by a bus. Trials of recovery procedures should a bus break down were also held, with the test finding that a stranded bus could be connected up and removed within five to ten minutes of a specially-adapted breakdown vehicle reaching the scene. During one preview journey held for journalists on 28 July 2011, Hugh Morris of
3080-408: The contractors and Cambridgeshire County Council were still in discussions about what required finishing. During February 2010 the directors of both the signed-up bus operators—Andy Campbell of Stagecoach in Cambridge, and Peter Lee of Whippet coaches—expressed their companies' frustrations at the busway not being usable by the new buses they had bought to run on it. Shortly afterwards Stagecoach altered
3157-721: The core busway route. This includes Peterborough , now served by Route 904 and Royston on Route 915, but also Routes V1-V5 running to rural areas such as Ramsey and Chatteris . Initially these services were operated By Stagecoach however since October 2022 most of these services are now operated by smaller independent operators. Figures published during 2004 by Cambridgeshire County Council proposed that it would begin operation with six buses per hour and build up to 20 buses per hour into Cambridge during peak periods by 2016. Two operators, Stagecoach in The Fens and Whippet , committed to buying new buses and running commercial services on
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3234-513: The day on Saturdays, and up to two buses an hour on Sundays. There is a half-hourly service in the evenings Mondays to Saturdays. Whippet operated this service with seven Volvo / Wright Eclipse single-decker buses, with Universal branding in blue colours, however in September 2023 the Eclipses were replaced by nine Battery-Electric Mellor Sigma 12 vehicles. Whilst Route 5 is not officially
3311-421: The day, the route occasionally expands, making its final stop Long Road Sixth Form College (replacing the now ended C service, also operated by Stagecoach.) The Monday to Saturday off-peak timetable has three buses an hour. From late-2020 to mid-2021, Route B also served Trumpington Park & Ride and Addenbrooke's Hospital, providing additional capacity on the southern section of the busway whilst social distancing
3388-401: The elderly and disabled. As guide wheels can be inexpensively attached to, and removed from, almost any standard model of bus, kerb guided busway systems are not tied to particular specialised vehicles or equipment suppliers. Characteristically, operators contracted to run services on kerb-guided busways will purchase or lease the vehicles, as second-hand vehicles (with guide wheels removed) have
3465-575: The experience in Essen, in 1986 the Government of South Australia opened the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide . This is a 12-kilometre guided busway. In Mannheim , Germany, from May 1992 to September 2005 a guided busway shared the tram alignment for a few hundred metres, which allowed buses to avoid a congested stretch of road where there was no space for an extra traffic lane. It was discontinued, as
3542-559: The former stations of Oakington , Long Stanton and Histon . The southern section, which uses part of the former Varsity Line to Oxford, links Cambridge railway station , Addenbrooke's Hospital and the park-and-ride site at Trumpington via housing on the Clay Farm site. Services are operated by Stagecoach in Huntingdonshire and Whippet , which have exclusive use of the route for five years in exchange for providing
3619-441: The freed-up road space from other parts of the local road network, the net reduction is predicted to be 2.3%. The overall scheme was "not intended to solve the congestion problems on the A14" by itself, but will rather have an overall effect across the local road network, and be complementary to planned improvements on the A14. Starting at Huntingdon railway station and town centre, buses travel on normal roads to St Ives. From here
3696-567: The line managed to survive the Beeching Axe , but with British Rail citing heavy losses the final passenger service ran between St Ives and Cambridge on 5 October 1970. Despite campaigns to reopen the service during the 1970s, the only subsequent rail traffic on the line was a freight service to Chivers in Histon which ran until 1983 and a contract to ferry sand from ARC at Fen Drayton which continued until May 1992. The railway now forms
3773-478: The majority of buses fitted with guide wheels were withdrawn for age reasons. There are no plans to convert newer buses. The Nagoya Guideway Bus opened in March 2001 and is the only guided bus line in Japan. The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway between Cambridge and St Ives , at 25 kilometres (16 miles), is the world's longest guided busway. Between 2004 and 2008, a 1-mile (1.5 km) section of guided busway
3850-486: The manufacturer, APTS, was declared bankrupt. The Douai region in France is developing a public transport network with dedicated infrastructure. The length of the lines will be 34 km (21 mi). The first stage is a line of 12 km (7.5 mi) from Douai via Guesnain to Lewarde, passing close to Waziers, Sin-le-Noble, Dechy and Lambres-lez-Douai. 39 stop platforms will be provided with an average distance between
3927-429: The opening of the busway, having cost the operator a total of £3 million plus £1 million in staffing and training costs. This service was operated from the opening of the guided busway until withdrawal in November 2018. The initial service was from St Ives to Cambridge and operated broadly hourly during the daytime Mondays to Saturdays (with some services starting from or continuing to Somersham. An hourly Sunday service
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#17327660949894004-422: The predicted figure. Bus use along the corridor was estimated to have increased by 33% over the same period. Before opening, the contractor had predicted that an estimated 11,500 journeys per day would be made on the busway. The scheme was predicted to cause a direct reduction in traffic on the busy parallel A14 road of 5.6% (rising to 11.1% with the new Park & Ride sites), although as other traffic re-routes to
4081-482: The previously advertised date of 29 November 2009. An opening date of "the end of the year" 2009 for the northern section was announced later in the same month, followed four days later by "hopefully in the new year [2010]". Initial busway services would only reach Huntingdon railway station and not serve Hinchingbrooke Hospital as had originally been promoted during the public inquiry; neither would they continue southwards to Cambridge railway station. In January 2010,
4158-414: The promoters. In November 2009 the backers of the "cb1" redevelopment scheme around Cambridge railway station frontage, Ashwell Property Group, had been due to make their £927,000 contribution towards the busway scheme, but were given permission to defer, and entered administration in December 2009. The taxpayer was expected to have to make up any funding shortfall. Cambridgeshire County Council announced it
4235-400: The public on 7 August 2011. The first guided bus left St Ives at 09:00 after the busway had been opened by Andrew Lansley MP. In the first seven days, 55,895 trips were made, leading to the operators providing additional buses on their services. Over the first four weeks the average was 52,227 journeys (224,054 total). Footfall and trade at businesses in the villages increased as a result, with
4312-488: The rail service, and for a light railway network, a bus lane, a road with limited access, a bus-way, a cycle path and a nature walk. A local group, CAST.IRON, was set up in July 2003 after being inspired by the Wensleydale Railway to promote and undertake reinstatement of the route for trains and to resist other proposals, referring to the guided bus as the 'misguided bus'. A private consortium that had proposed
4389-418: The required work. The County Council contracted Jackson Civil Engineering to finish the busway, at BAM Nuttall's expense, with a view to opening the busway in August 2011. The County Council served a legal notice on BAM Nuttall that they were not willing to pay for the budget overrun. A number of preview trials of the busway were held, during which some problems were encountered, particularly with cyclists using
4466-732: The route. Guided busway Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours . Unlike railbuses , trolleybuses or rubber-tyred trams , for part of their routes guided buses are able to share road space with general traffic along conventional roads, or with conventional buses on standard bus lanes . Guidance systems can be physical, such as kerbs or guide bars , or remote , such as optical or radio guidance. Guided buses may be Articulated bus , allowing more passengers, but not as many as light rail or trams , which are not constrained to
4543-436: The route. The maintenance track is either adjacent to the busway on flat land, or to one side at the foot of the former railway embankments—the combined width of the maintenance track and the busway being considerably wider than that of the railway it had replaced. To negotiate Trumpington Cutting on the southern section, a narrower maintenance track was required, along with the use of a bi-directional single-track busway to fit
4620-472: The same increase reported by market traders and shopkeepers in St Ives. As a bridleway , horse riders can also use the maintenance track adjacent to the northern guided section providing a traffic-free route between the villages. Work began at the end of July 2011 on improving the park and ride facilities at Longstanton. Construction work included a £430,000 passenger waiting room and exhibition centre, for
4697-465: The scheme had variously assessed the expected ratio as 4.84, 2.28 (1998 prices) and 1.968, (a higher ratio is better), with the cost rising from an initial estimate of £54 million. In December 2008, the County Council assessed the financial risks of the project as "high"; None of the £12.7 million funding—out of £23.7 million—due to come from property developers had been received by
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#17327660949894774-559: The scheme. The council had previously held talks with Cavalier (owner of Huntingdon and District, prior to being purchased by Stagecoach) and another operator. Originally Stagecoach route A operated three times an hour from St Ives Park and Ride to Trumpington (Monday to Saturday daytime only) and route B operated three times an hour from Huntingdon to Cambridge (with an hourly evening service) Mondays to Saturdays. On Sundays route B ran three times per hour between Cambridge and St Ives, with one journey per hour continuing to Huntingdon. There
4851-420: The slogan displayed on their fleet of buses for the busway, changing it from reading "I'll be on the busway soon, will you?" to a new slogan of "Will I be on the busway soon?". In the same month, South Cambridgeshire District Council demanded of Cambridgeshire County Council a comprehensive public statement giving clarity over rising costs. In mid-June 2010, none of the listed outstanding issues had been fixed and
4928-529: The stops of 400 m (440 yd). A number of stops will be placed on the right-hand side of each lane. Central stops between both lanes will be placed at locations with limited space at the right side. This requires vehicle to have doors on both sides. On 3 November 2005, a licence and technology transfer agreement was signed between Advanced Public Transport Systems (APTS) and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI). KRRI
5005-433: The summer of 2009. Flooding and drainage issues affected the limestone-covered cycleway during late 2009 and early 2010. In August 2009 a further delay until late November 2009 was announced for the opening of the northern section, with no date given for the southern section. On 16 November 2009 the project was delayed for the third time when Cambridgeshire County Council announced that the northern section would not open on
5082-517: The ticket machines were taken out of use completely in 2019, the contactless machine at the Trumpington P&;R busway stop will, however, remain. The Multibus multi-operator ticket for Cambridgeshire has never been accepted on guided busway services. Originally Cambridgeshire County Council stated that smartcard-based multi-operator ticketing would be supported, allowing passengers to board the first bus that arrived. They stated that such
5159-521: The whole route opened, rather than aiming for a phased introduction. During late September 2010 BAM Nuttall missed deadlines for providing construction certificates needed by the Council, forcing it to begin its own inspections. On 21 April 2011 the busway was officially handed over to Cambridgeshire County Council, triggering a 28-day period for any remedial works be undertaken by BAM Nuttall. This period expired without BAM Nuttall having completed any of
5236-753: The width of the former double-track railway line. The southern section is restricted to single-decker buses. In May 2012 the County Council received a petition calling for better night-time lighting for the bridleway alongside the southern section, and the need for this was subsequently acknowledged by the Council. Work on lighting was completed in autumn 2015. Operated by Stagecoach, Route A operates between Trumpington Park & Ride, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge City Centre, Orchard Park and St Ives. The Monday to Saturday off-peak timetable has three buses an hour. Operated by Stagecoach, Route B operates between Cambridge City Centre, Cambridge North, Science Park, St Ives, Huntingdon and Hinchingbrooke Hospital . Throughout
5313-565: The world constructed since 1980. The first modern guided busway system was opened in 1980 in Essen , Germany. This was initially a demonstration track, but it was periodically expanded and is still in operation as of 2019. The first guided busway in the United Kingdom was in Birmingham , the Tracline 65 , 1,968 feet (600 m) long, experimentally in 1984. It closed in 1987. Based on
5390-406: Was 350 millimetres (13¾ inches) thick with a further 180-millimetre (7") lip for the glide wheels to press against. A total of 50,000 tonnes of concrete was cast to a precision of plus or minus one millimetre (1/25 inch). Supports below the beams were under-pinned by 2,150 piles along a 2.5 miles (4 km) length of the busway. In the same year a viaduct of maintenance-free steel was built over
5467-414: Was added shortly after introduction. In 2016 the service operated hourly from St Ives to Cambridge and Cambridge Railway Station during the day on Mondays to Sundays. Following the opening of Cambridge North Stagecoach introduced a service from Longstanton Park and Ride to Cambridge via Cambridge North Station. From May to September 2017 this operated three times an hour Mondays to Saturdays daytimes (with
5544-416: Was budgeting £1 million per year to cover potential ongoing costs associated with the busway, through the reorganisation of other transport related budgets. Repayments for the loans and associated interest would then be recovered from the contractors and future housing developers after the scheme had been completed. Contributions from developers were also used to pay for artworks and time capsules along
5621-409: Was in operation between Stenhouse and Broomhouse in the west of Edinburgh .The route was later converted for use by Edinburgh trams . Guided buses are to be distinguished from rubber-tyred systems that cannot run other than along a dedicated trackway, or under fixed overhead power lines. Optical guidance relies on the principles of image processing . A camera in the front of the vehicle scans
5698-411: Was in place. Operated by Stagecoach, Route H operates between Addenbrookes Hospital and Trumpington Park & Ride. It only operates in the morning, and was introduced to reduce congestion on the A service. Operated by Stagecoach, Route R operates between Cambridge Railway Station, Addenbrookes Hospital, and Trumpington Park & Ride. It was introduced to reduce congestion on the A service. Together,
5775-518: Was no Sunday evening service. Whippet also operated a route C from Somersham and St Ives to Cambridge. To operate their services, Stagecoach ordered ten Eclipse/B7RLE single-decker buses, to be manufactured by Wrightbus and Volvo , and ten Alexander Dennis Enviro400 / Scania N230UD double deckers. All the specially-branded vehicles were equipped with leather seats, air chill or air conditioning , real time information, and free Wi-Fi . The new buses were deployed on Stagecoach's other services prior to
5852-598: Was to develop the Korean version of Phileas vehicle by May 2011. Since June 2013, 3 miles (1.5 miles each way) of the Emerald Express (EmX) BRT in Eugene, Oregon, has used magnetic guidance in revenue service on an especially curvy section of the route that also entails small radius S-curves required for docking. The driver controls braking and acceleration. On kerb-guided buses (KGB) small guide wheels attached to
5929-748: Was withdrawn due to low passenger numbers. After the withdrawal of Route N, Stagecoach introduced Route D which were re-numbered Route A journeys operating via Cambridge North Station and stopping along Milton Road. This route was withdrawn in the summer of 2020 due to a simplification of Busway services, with the Cambridge North extension replaced by Route B. Tickets are bought on the bus. Originally passengers boarding on guided sections were required to purchase their tickets before boarding from one of seventeen ticket issuing machines compatible with ITSO smartcards. Cash sales from ticket machines were stopped following vandalism of ticket machines in 2014, and
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