Plans to shelve Crossrail 2 will cost Cambridge commuters the equivalent of five working days a year in journey time.

It had been hoped that construction could start in the early 2020s on a line from Broxbourne into Liverpool Street. This would have opened up the lines between the city and London. Four tracks promised more reliable journeys, and reduced travel times knocking nearly five minutes off an express trip from Cambridge to London.

Daniel Zeichner MP said: “This is bad news for people who commute into Liverpool Street. There was a real opportunity here to increase reliability on the line and reduce journey times. For a commuter doing the trip every day those time savings add up – to about five eight-hour working days a year!

Not that many people are using out trains currently but what is so important during the pandemic is that we plan for the future.

Now is precisely the time to be investing in the 21^st century infrastructure we need for economic growth, and encouraging the move to efficient public transport for the sake of our climate. Sadly, we have a government, with no vision and that has no intention of building back better.”