Cambridge - Transport

Transport

Because of its rapid growth in the 20th century, Cambridge has a congested road network. The M11 motorway from east London terminates to the north-west of the city where it joins the A14, a major freight route which connects the port of Felixstowe on the east coast with the Midlands. The A428 connects the city with Bedford and St Neots, and the A1303 to Newmarket and beyond to Colchester.

As a university town lying on fairly flat ground and with traffic congestion, Cambridge has the highest level of cycle use in the UK. According to the 2001 census, 25% of residents travelled to work by bicycle.

Cambridge has several bus services including routes linking five Park and Ride sites all of which operate seven days a week and are aimed at encouraging motorists to park near the city's edge. Since 7 August 2011, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has bus services running into the centre of Cambridge from St Ives and Huntingdon.

Cambridge railway station has direct rail links to London with termini at London King's Cross (via the Cambridge Line and the East Coast Main Line) and Liverpool Street (on the West Anglia Main Line). There is a non-stop train to King's Cross every half-hour during off-peak hours, with a typical 50-minute journey time. Trains also run to King's Lynn and Ely (via the Fen Line), Norwich (via the Breckland Line), Leicester, Birmingham New Street, Ipswich and London Stansted Airport. A second station, Cambridge Science Park, is due to open in 2015.

Cambridge also has its own airport, Cambridge Airport used mainly by business, leisure and training flights, and to fly in aircraft for maintenance.