The next phase of the project to build the £5bn East West rail link between Cambridge and Oxford has secured £760m in government funding.

It is part of the “knowledge corridor” linking Oxford and Cambridge that was identified by the National Infrastructure Commission as a key way of boosting the national economy. The “arc” was the subject of a high-profile ideas competition in 2017 which was won by the all-women VeloCity team.

This phase of the project will see the reinstatement of direct rail services between Bicester and Bletchley for the first time since 1968.

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