Cambridge’s largest bus operator has welcomed plans that would see the southern section of the Busway reopened.

In a move that could see journey times between the Biomedical Campus and Cambridge Railway Station reduced to less than 5 minutes, the Busway and its maintenance track are due to fully re-open on March 30.

Travelling along Hills Road, the journey between the two landmarks can take more than 30 minutes at peak times due to congested traffic.

A safety review into the Busway had been ordered following the deaths of two pedestrians and a cyclist on the route, which runs alongside a mixed-use path and the maintenance route, between 2015 and 2022.

Darren Roe, managing director of Stagecoach East, which operates on the Busway, said: “The Busway provides a rapid and convenient way to get to work or meet friends and family in Cambridge, so we are pleased for our customers that this important piece of the local transport network will soon be reopened. It will help to cut journey times and reduce the congestion that is such a blight on our city centre.

“However, of course safety must be our highest priority so we will continue to work with the relevant authorities to ensure that we abide by the highest standards of safety.

"For example, our ISA is a world-leading safety system that automatically reduces a bus’s speed in line with speed limits. This is already in operation on our Busway buses."

The inbound track on the Busway between the Biomedical Campus and Cambridge Railway Station has been closed since February 2022 to allow a temporary fence to be installed.

Since then, bus operators, the county council and emergency services have worked together to risk assess and design a fence. It has been specifically designed with removable sections to allow for safe evacuation.

From February, the maintenance track is closed from the entrance of the Busway at Hills Road bridge to Addenbrooke’s spur junction for a week, but buses will still run.

Both the maintenance track and the Busway will be closed from February 19 until March 29 to allow the new fence to be installed along the route’s 1.2km stretch.