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Transport

Roads

Because of its rapid growth in the 20th century, Cambridge has a congested road network. Several major roads intersect at Cambridge. The M11 motorway from east London terminates there where it joins the A14. Skirting the northern edge of the city, the A14 is a major freight route which connects the port of Felixstowe on the east coast with the Midlands, North Wales, the west coast and Ireland. The A14 is often congested, particularly the section between Huntingdon and Cambridge where the east–west traffic is merged with the A1 to M11 north–south traffic on a 2-lane dual carriageway. The A10, a former Roman road from north London, passes round the city on its way to Ely and King's Lynn. The A428 connects the city with Bedford and St Neots, and the A1303 to Newmarket and beyond to Colchester.

The city has a ring road, the A1134, about a mile and a half in diameter, inside which there are traffic restrictions. It has a well developed bus service including five Park and Ride sites encouraging motorists to park near the city's edge, all of which operate seven days a week.

Rail

Main article: Cambridge railway station

The front of Cambridge station

Cambridge railway station was built in 1845 with a platform designed to take two full-length trains, the third longest in the country. Cambridge has direct rail links to London with termini at King's Cross (on the Hitchin-Cambridge Line and the East Coast Main Line) and Liverpool Street (on the West Anglia Main Line). There is a direct shuttle service to King's Cross every half hour during off peak hours. Peak hour trains to King's Cross all have additional stops. Future developments for the Cambridge to London line include the provision of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h) high speed trains from 2013. The line is currently graded for 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). The line is all welded rail, but because of the flat geography there are many level crossings, and they make it harder to run at higher speeds.

Cambridge is linked by rail to King's Lynn and Ely (via the Fen Line), Norwich (via the Breckland Line), Leicester, Birmingham New Street, Ipswich and London Stansted Airport. The important UK rail hub of Peterborough is also less than an hour from Cambridge.

The railway service connecting Cambridge and Oxford, known as the Varsity Line, ceased in 1968.

A second station within the city, in Chesterton, has been proposed and in 2009 received the backing of the East of England Regional Assembly.

Air

The city's airport is known as Marshall Airport Cambridge UK (formerly Teversham Aerodrome) and is owned by Marshall Aerospace. There are no scheduled passenger services, though the runway can accommodate an unladen Boeing 747 or MD-11 and ScotAirways used to make scheduled flights to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The airport is used mainly by business, leisure and training flights, and to fly in aircraft for maintenance. In 2004 a charter service to Jersey was operated by Aurigny Air Services using Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. A dealer in fibreglass-moulded light monoplanes is also based at the airport. Controversially it has been mooted to remove Marshalls to a site away from the city, and develop the land with housing. Sir Arthur Marshall, the founder of the company, died in 2007.

London Luton Airport at 32 miles (51 km) and particularly London Stansted Airport at 28 miles (45 km) are both easily accessible from Cambridge. The other London airports are also quite easy to get to, London Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport both being about 90 minutes' travel, and the smaller London City Airport being at the foot of the M11.

Cycling

Colleges or research centres have large bicycle parks.

As a university town lying on fairly flat ground and with traffic congestion, Cambridge has a large number of cyclists. Many residents also prefer cycling to driving in the narrow, busy streets, giving the city the highest level of cycle use in the UK. According to the 2001 census, 25% of residents travelled to work by bicycle. A few roads within the city are adapted for cycling, including separate traffic lights for cycle lanes and cycle contraflows on streets which are otherwise one-way; the city also benefits from parks which have shared use paths. There are, however, no separate cycle paths within the city centre. Despite the high levels of cycling, expenditure on cycling infrastructure is around the national average of 0.3% of the transport budget. There are a few cycle routes in the surrounding countryside and the city is now linked to the National Cycle Network. The main organisation campaigning to improve conditions for cyclists in Cambridge is the Cambridge Cycling Campaign. The city was chosen as a Cycling Town by the Department for Transport in 2008, with central government funding an expansion of cycling facilities in the city and its surrounding villages.

Bike theft in the city is a problem, with over 3000 bicycles reported stolen between April 2005 and March 2006. The actual number is believed to be higher as many thefts are not reported to the police.

Guided bus

Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, set to be the world's longest guided busway, is under construction and will pass through Cambridge. It will run on the road from Huntingdon to St Ives, then along the disused railway line south-east to Cambridge, where it will rejoin the road at either Milton Road or Histon Road to the city's railway station. From there it will again be guided to Addenbrooke's Hospital and Trumpington. The scheme, budgeted at £116.2 million, was scheduled to open in early 2009 but has been beset by delays and is unlikely to open before the middle of 2009, and even then only in parts. The scheme has been heavily criticised by campaigners who believe the route would be better served by rail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesterton_railway_station