A brand new railway station is set to open in one of the UK’s most beautiful cities. Officials say it will improve connectivity for 1.8million customers.
The infrastructure project is important because Cambridge will have many more people living in it in future years.
The Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the Cambridge Southern Fringe have been identified as areas of “major change” in Cambridge.
It is envisaged that, by 2031, new housing developments across the latter, comprising an estimated 4,000 new homes, will have been built.
The station is “on track” to open on its target date. This is by the end of 2025.
Network Rail has warned of disruption over the Christmas period relating to the delivery of the new station. This will affect journeys between December 25 and January 5.
The work will impact all services via Cambridge Station during these dates.
Bosses say the new station will deliver better transport options for patients, visitors and employees when travelling to and from the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC).
In addition, the project, upon its completion, will “grow and level up the economy”, and “open up an array of employment opportunities”, in nearby communities such as Trumpington and Cambridge, as well as the wider region.
Cambridge South Station also has designed into it capacity to support future East West rail services, aiming to unlock £103billion of economic growth for the Cambridge and Oxford rail corridor.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “Our teams will be upgrading the track, electrifying the overhead lines and renewing the switches and crossings – or the moveable track sections – at the nearby Shepreth Branch Junction. This work will also help make your journeys run more efficiently through here.
“Engineers will also connect the last two lines running through the new station to the railway.
“The new Cambridge South Station is on track to open next year. It will bring you faster journeys between Cambridge, London, London Stansted Airport, Birmingham and Europe.”