Rail Minister Huw Merriman has today revealed (5th June) that Cambridge will see a brand new station which will support an accessible, fast and easy link for passengers making their way to and from the groundbreaking Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
The huge project already has preparation work underway and will be fully delivered in 2025.
The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe and this new investment will support its impressive progress whilst supporting the government's aims to become a science superpower by 2030.
The local area is also expected to see impressive levels of growth with over 27,000 jobs and 4,000 new homes built by 2031.
Rail Minister, Huw Merriman said: “This brand new station will not only benefit local passengers but deliver a major boost to the entire city, improving connectivity to a world-leading academic hub while unlocking local business and growth opportunities across the region.”
“This is just another step in our efforts to create a thriving, well-connected, passenger focussed rail network to support communities for generations to come.”
The construction project will see 300 new local jobs created and on delivery will see further employment created as the station becomes a vital transport link connecting the campus with international gateways, including Stansted Airport and Eurostar.
Approximately 1.8 million passengers are expected to use the station per year as it will also support the future East-West Rail line, which would see a rail connection made between Oxford and Cambridge, which hold the opportunity to realise £103bn in economic growth.
Katie Frost, Network Rail's route director for Anglia, said: “It's an exciting time for the railway in Cambridgeshire with a green light to deliver a new station that will serve the vitally important and growing biomedical campus.”
“Rail continues to be an environmentally sustainable form of transport and I know the Minister's announcement will be welcomed by the customers and communities we serve across Cambridgeshire and beyond.”
Kristin-Anne Rutter, Executive Director at Cambridge Biomedical Campus Ltd said: “We are delighted that the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is to get its own railway station in less than two years' time. Better public transport links will be critical in fulfilling our vision of a more sustainable campus.”
“Currently, there are around five times as many visits to the site as there are car parking spaces. We have to find ways of making it easier for the thousands of staff, NHS patients and visitors arriving daily to get here without needing to use a car.”
“This is a Campus dedicated to improving human health, so anything that has the potential to cut air pollution and take pressure off of our local roads is also very welcome. Coupled with the recent approval of the East-West rail route directly linking Oxford with the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, we believe we can create a successful yet sustainable health and life sciences cluster that can both grow the economy and save lives”.
Sir Mene Pangalos, EVP BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, said: “We very much welcome the ‘groundbreaking' for the Cambridge South Train Station, which will provide sustainable travel directly to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This will help support the ongoing growth and vibrancy of the site, enabling further collaboration and partnership across academia, biotech and industry, which is key to advancing scientific innovation to transform healthcare and improve outcomes for patients.
So, that’s 3 stations in 3.5 miles approx on one line. (north, “central”, south)
Are there enough clear train paths through Cambridge to support a metro-like stopping frequency without slowing down longer distance trains excessively?
Or will the region eventually wind up with a need to somehow insert a light rail metro to connect these three (reduced single seat onward travel, but better frequency and probably quicker overall). Maybe as an overhead light rail above the existing lines
I think it’s beneficial for having a new railway station to the south of Cambridge and to serve nearby Addenbrooks and Papworth hospitals and the biomedical research centre. Makes a great change to use trains and to cut Co2 emissions on the outskirts of the city centre.
I thought Cambridge was a popular place to cycles? Don’t really need the new station.