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East West Rail: Explaining the Cambridge to Oxford project

The East West rail project is set to be one of the UK's biggest transport schemes.

The new train line, costing about £5bn, will connect Cambridge to Oxford via Bedford and Milton Keynes.

The plan promises reduced journey times between the two university cities and less traffic on the roads.

Theo Chikomba explains the project from where we are now, to what the plans are for the future.

26 June 2021

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Police bodycam footage of a man sitting in a car in Cambridge.

Police catch drug dealer after chase into bushes

Collapse canopy in front of station with emergency vehicles

Aftermath of deadly Serbia railway station roof collapse

Passenger sitting behind wheel in driver's seat

Moment passenger steers bus to safety after driver's collapse

Exterior of Euston Station in 1969

When Euston Station was shiny and new

The Ferry

Strangford ferry to be suspended for five weeks

Northern Ireland

A man is holding a gun at a counter, he is wearing a black coat and cap

Man used fake gun in series of shop robberies

Maggie Smith staring off camera towards an interviewer in a black and white interview with the BBC

Watch: Maggie Smith's 1967 interview about her early career

Brown water has submerged the A421 as it runs under a bridge. The road is almost impossible to see until the water stops in the horizon and the road continues.

Watch: Aerial footage shows flooding on major road

Beds, Herts & Bucks

A circle around the vehicle moments before a freight train crashes into it

US freight train crashes into military vehicle

Rail users expressed their views on expanded fine zones

Fare dodgers targeted as rail fine zones expanded

Gethin Jones and his nephew Alby played the 'train game' by the railway

Watch TV's Gethin Jones and nephew play train game

The old-style trains were introduced to passenger service on 16 April 1980

Subway carriages retire after 44 years of service

Glasgow & West Scotland

BBC reporter Clodagh Stenson stands on the bank of the Oxford Canal. She is wearing a black shirt and black trousers, with sunglasses propped on the top of her head. She is standing on a grass bank with a bridge over the canal in the background. Directly behind her is a navy blue narrow boat with a yellow window

Affordable housing and GPs issues for canal voters

BBC Reporter Clodagh Stenson sits on the roof of a narrowboat on the Oxford Canal. She is wearing black trousers and a black shirt with sunglasses on top of her head. She has short red hair. There is a second blue narrowboat in the water alongside. One bank has green trees overhanging the water. The other bank has a gravel yard with a blue car parked next to a two-storey industrial building.

Voters talk NHS and pensions as they clear canal

BBC reporter Clodagh Stenson sits on the roof of her narrowboat on the Oxford canal with a grass verge next to the tow path

Boating voters talk farming on canal tour

Crowd stuck in darkness at airport

'It's utter chaos': Video shows huge crowds stuck in darkness at terminal

Picture of Oxford United head coach as a baby

Oxford United coach releases baby picture after win

Oxford United players

Footballers fitted for play-off final Wembley suits

Gaza Oxford protester

Gaza protest university students deliver demands

Pete Marland, leader of Milton Keynes City Council, talking to a BBC reporter

Labour takes Milton Keynes City Council

Beds, Herts & Bucks

Double-decker bus crashing into ditch

Watch: Double-decker bus crashes into ditch

Six children are rescued unhurt and a driver is taken to hospital as a precaution after the crash.

A man is trying to open a door on CCTV footage. He is dressed in dark clothes. His face is blurred.

Video doorbell captures would-be-burglar

Police arrive at the scene of the attempted burglary and the suspect tells them he is looking for building work.

Sam Carling MP.

Youngest MP's new-found fame 'a bit of a shock'

Sam Carling, 22, answers some quick-fire questions about life as a Labour MP.

A rhea in a field.

Watch: Runaway rhea caught on camera by reporter

Aerial footage captures the five-foot (1.5m) tall bird walking in a field near a village.

Person throwing an object at a shop window.

Watch: Police chase men after shop smash and grab

Two men throw an object at the shop window and start to fill a bag with stolen goods.

Man standing on a cherry picker removes cone from the top of a statue of Oliver Cromwell.

Traffic cone removed from Oliver Cromwell's head

A cherry picker is deployed to the Lord Protector's statue after the local MP posts on social media.

Drink-driver on A14 in Cambridgeshire

Watch: Drink-driver on wrong side of major roads

CCTV cameras show the car travelling on the wrong side of two roads in Cambridgeshire.

Smiley face drawn in sky by plane vapour trail.

Pilot draws smiley face in sky after England win

A giant number five also appears minutes after the side beat Switzerland 5-3 on penalties.

Man wading in a river.

Watch: Drug dealer jumps into river to flee police

Police use a paddleboard to retrieve a bag containing money and drugs from the branches of a tree.

Peterborough United fan.

Posh fans 'disappointed' with play-off semi result

Oxford United beat Peterborough United 2-1 on aggregate in their League One play-off semi-final.

CCTV footage of a theft from Ely Museum

Bronze Age jewellery theft caught on CCTV

The gold items were 3,000 years old and taken during the middle of the night.

Vehicle rolling over after crashing into car.

Watch: Driver runs away after crashing into car

The driver crashes into another vehicle at speed after ignoring a red light.

Man arrested in Starbucks

Armed police arrest knife suspect in Starbucks

Police bodycam captures the moment an armed officer enters a coffee shop full of customers.

Keith Govera sitting in the back of an ambulance after being breathalysed.

Drink-driver breathalysed after hitting railings

Police footage shows the driver, now disqualified, trying to explain what happened.

White van on the wrong side of the road after a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre on the A10 in Cambridgeshire.

Watch: Overtaking van narrowly avoids head-on crash

Dashcam footage shows other drivers swerving out of the way to avoid a collision.

The car falls into a bus lane car trap in St Ives, Cambridgeshire

Watch: Driver punctures tyres at bus lane car trap

The council installed extra no-entry signs in October to stop drivers from using the lane.

Drone footage shows a digger completing the demolition of 83 new-build homes at Darwin Green in Cambridge.

Watch: Demolition of 83 new-build homes completed

Drone video shows flattened land where houses were knocked down over concerns about the foundations.

Car sliding along on its roof with sparks coming out of it after it was rammed from behind by a drink driver.

Car slides on roof after drink-driver crash

Dashcam footage shows the car sliding along the carriageway with sparks flying out from underneath.

Man caught on CCTV in Peterborough stealing bike

Watch: 'Brazen' thief steals locked bike in seconds

He is seen removing a wheel to free the bicycle from a rack in a busy city centre.

Joshua Turner stealing alcohol from a supermarket.

Watch: CCTV shows 'prolific thief' stealing alcohol

Joshua Turner can be seen hiding bottles of alcohol in a bag before leaving a supermarket.