Cambridgeshire Guided Busway safety fence being installed

Partial closure of a southern section of the Cambridge busway route followed several incidents on that route

Passengers using a guided bus in Cambridge will face disruption as work begins to install safety measures.

Part of the route between the Biomedical Campus and railway station has been partially closed since 2022 after a number of accidents and deaths.

A temporary safety fence is to be replaced with a permanent one with work starting on 12 February, the Cambridgeshire County Council said.

The full route should reopen in both directions on about 30 March.

In a statement about the works, the council said: "The temporary fence was installed whilst we waited for an independent safety review and following ongoing communications with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and as part of our continuous review of safety on the busway."

It said the measure had "severely impacted the busway service and connections to key employment and health facilities".

Following work with the bus operators and emergency services, a new fence is to be installed along sections of the southern busway that is "designed with removable sections to allow for safe evacuation".

'Innovative' measure

The council said the work would mean that "from Monday, 12 February, the maintenance track will be closed from the entrance of the busway at Hills Road bridge to Addenbrooke's spur junction for a week, but buses will still run".

"Then from Monday, 19 February until Friday, 29 March, both the maintenance track and the busway will be closed to allow the new fence to be installed along the 1.2km (0.7 mile) stretch of the busway," the council said.

"This new innovative busway safety measure means we can return the busway back to full use and people can continue cycling, walking, running, and using the maintenance track."

In May 2023, the HSE said it planned to start legal proceedings against the county council amid safety concerns.

The council said that investigation was ongoing and it could not comment further.