Potential site for new Cambridge South station named

THE site of the proposed new station at Cambridge South has been revealed by Network Rail, following a six-week public consultation in January and February this year, after which 94 per cent of respondents supported the building of a new station south of the city centre.

The station has been planned in principle for several years and enthusiasm for the project has probably been boosted by Cambridge North, which opened just over three years ago and where passenger figures rose sharply in 2019.

Like Cambridge North, Cambridge South will serve important scientific sites, particularly the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, which includes Addenbroke’s Hospital and is also said to be the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe.

There had been three options for the station site and the preferred choice, which is the furthest north and nearest the guided busway, will offer improved connections with other railway routes as well as the busway. Although the detailed plans for East West Rail between Bedford and Cambridge have not yet been confirmed, it is possible that EWR trains will call at Cambridge South.

Network Rail said it had also been ‘challenged’ by the public to protect places of significance such as Hobson’s Park and Nine Wells Nature Reserve.

Network Rail will now move on to further design development work, working closely with stakeholders and funders of the project including the Department for Transport, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the Greater Cambridge Partnership and AstraZeneca Ltd. 

Anglia route director Ellie Burrows said: ‘This is a significant step forward for the development of a new station serving Cambridge’s important biomedical campus and the southern fringe of the city. Selecting a preferred location will allow the development work to continue in more detail as we move towards a second round of public consultation later this year.’

Submission of a proposed Transport and Works Act Order to the transport secretary is now expected in 2021, and the station could open in 2025.

Back to News

Related Articles