RTV 31 Hovertrain

RTV 31 Hovertrain

The Guided Busway has certainly been a boon to St Ives, bringing visitors and tourists by the hundreds. In addition to the attractions of our beautiful town, a ride on the Busway is pleasurable. Futuristic, as a bus comes gliding along, driver hands-free. How much more exciting it could have been!

In summer it's a pleasant walk south of Sutton Gault along the arrow-straight flood bank, with the River Delph on your left, the Hundred Foot Drain further to the left. In between lies the Ouse Washes, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the largest washland area in the UK.

But not quite arrow-straight. The Gullet is a peculiar and pronounced bend reached after just over half a mile. It's been there for centuries following a breach in the bank.

Three huge concrete slabs that span the gap in the flood bank as shown below will catch your interest. These are the only remaining evidence of a test track for the RTV 31 Hovertrain.

During the 1960s the Government commissioned a number of scale models for a hovertrain. In 1969 a one mile test track was built along the Ouse Washes running towards Earith. By 1971 the RTV 31 had arrived and was under test running.

In January 1973 the RTV 31 reached a top test speed of 107mph. One month later the Government abandoned the project in favour of British Rail's high speed Advanced Passenger Train.

Cambridge University have released a film about the RTV 31 which you can view below and includes valuable archive footage.

Ironic that if you're on a train along the East Coast Main Line coming into Peterborough station from the south, you'll catch a glimpse of the RTV 31. It's on view at Railworld.