Jul 2019 John Miles - An Underground for Cambridge ?

Today we have an very interesting update on this major city project in the making.

Our expert Speaker is Professor John Miles FREng  :

Currently a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Engineering Professor of Transitional Energy Strategies at the University Department of Engineering. His special interests include the technology and economics of future transport systems, with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency and environmental impact. 

He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and sits on the UK Automotive Council. Prior to his appointment in Cambridge, John was a Group Board director at Arup, where he held a position on the firm's Group Board for 17 years.

John has been the main driver of the AVRT [Affordable Very Rapid Transit] scheme that hopes to solve the ever increasing problem of congestion, road accidents, pollution and slow movement about the City of Cambridge. Studies of traffic flow in and out of the city at peak times (7.30-9.30am and 4 - 6pm) shows that workers come in from increasingly far away so any solution must integrate with other transport elements such as Park & Ride, Buses, Busways, Trains etc. Currently around 1,450 vehicles per hour block up all the arterial roads - about 100,000 per day !

He has examined a wide variety of possible solutions and now promotes the idea of twin tunnels under the city to move large numbers of people at peak times in a quick, low polluting and safe way. If you halve the diameter of a tunnel you quarter the costs so single decker metro trains seem ideal.

The large single tunnel systems such as Crossrail in London require much more disruption, much more massive engineering and much longer development times. To bore one smaller tunnel each way means much less excavation, with more manageable machinery able to avoid valuable assets below ground.  Vertical shafts either end are all that is needed. Similar systems already operate successfully in other cities eg Glasgow.  Stations would be about 2 stories down from ground level.

Current estimates hope to run at about £2 billion and the Mayorial budget may prioritise the project over the 3 year construction plan.  He is convinced this is what is essential to support the city over the next 20-30 years.