Colchester Rapid Transit
Rapid transit in Colchester
As a thriving and growing city, high-quality public transport will play a key role in better connecting people to the destinations they need to reach, while offering a wider range of travel options.
The Colchester Rapid Transit System will transform how public transport operates across the city, delivering a step change in connectivity and service quality.
Travelling between the A12 Park and Ride, the University of Essex, the new Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, and a planned Park and Choose site off the A133, the service will provide high-quality public transport. With stops along the route and the ambition to operate services every few minutes, it will connect new and existing residents to key destinations, including the hospital, railway stations, city centre, and university.
What is the Rapid Transit System?
The rapid transit lanes on Northern Approach and Clingoe Hill, together with the new A120–A133 Link Road (A1331), form part of a wider package of transport infrastructure being delivered to support the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community.
To enable this development, Essex County Council, working alongside Colchester City Council and Tendring District Council, secured £100 million of Government Housing Infrastructure Funding to deliver essential transport infrastructure ahead of any new homes being built.
As part of the funding agreement, the rapid transit infrastructure needed to be delivered by March 2026. We would like to thank residents and road users for their patience while these works were carried out.
The new infrastructure—alongside signal prioritisation (using technology to switch signals for buses) and bus stops (known as ‘halts’)—will initially be used by Park and Ride and local bus services. Rapid transit services will be introduced alongside the delivery of new homes.
Looking ahead, as part of its upcoming planning application, the Garden Community developer, Latimer, will set out its transport strategy. This will include details of the Rapid Transit services it is required to provide and how these services will evolve over time as the new community grows.
Rapid Transit infrastructure
While services will evolve alongside the delivery of new homes, an infrastructure-led approach has been taken to ensure that a service can be provided from the first day of the new Garden Community.
The infrastructure delivered includes new priority lanes along Northern Approach and Clingoe Hill, as well as signal prioritisation at locations across the route. New ‘halts’ are also being installed at key locations.
These measures will enable services to gain priority over other traffic, improving journey time reliability—an essential factor in the successful operation of the network.
Modelling indicates that, once operational, the Rapid Transit System (RTS) will deliver a 35% journey time saving between the Park and Ride and the city centre, and a 20% saving between the university and the city centre.
Northern Approach
Along Northern Approach plans for a rapid transit corridor were first granted planning permission in 2006, with an initial design created in 2012. Forming part of the new Colchester Rapid Transit system, Colchester City Council approved a revised design in 2022. This saw the transit lane moved further from properties, and the addition of walking and cycling facilities.
The new facilities opened to existing services in October 2025.
View looking south along Northern Approach Road
View looking north along Northern Approach Road
Clingoe Hill A133
Once operational the new rapid transit lane will help improve journey time reliability by enabling services to bypass traffic along this section of the route. New walking and cycling facilities will also provide links between the future Garden Community development and the city's existing walking/cycling network.
The facilities opened to existing services in Spring 2026.
Got a question?
If you have a question about rapid transit, the proposals for Colchester or any of the specific scheme works, please do not hesitate to contact the project team by emailing rapidtransit@essexhighways.org