Guided bus scheme given go-ahead

The council hopes the guided bus will cut A14 congestion

Plans for a guided busway in Cambridge have been approved.

The decision has been greeted with dismay by campaigners who wanted to see the railway route between Cambridge and Huntingdon re-opened.

County councillors voted on Tuesday to apply for the legal powers to convert the line into a guided busway.

They hope the bus will help reduce congestion on the A14 but opponents say the chance to improve transport links across East Anglia had been lost.

The controversial scheme - which will be the longest in Europe - has already been given £65m by the government.

Plans for the scheme include park-and-ride sites as well as initiatives including smartcard ticketing.

During Tuesday's vote, 35 councillors backed the guided bus, 14 voted against it, and four abstained.

The plans will now be delivered to the government on 19 February and members of the public will have until 2 April to have their say.

A public inquiry is expected to be held in September next year, with the scheme set to open in 2007.