J Murphy has started preparatory works on a new Cambridge station as the project received £200 million in government funding.
The four-platform station, due to open in two years’ time, will improve access to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Europe’s largest medical and health sciences research centre, as well as support the rapid growth in the area south of Cambridge city centre.
A main contractor for the station is due to be appointed in July and around 300 jobs are expected to be created through the construction phase.
Announcing the Government’s funding, Rail Minister Huw Merriman said the benefits of improved transport links would be felt across the city and beyond.
“This new station will not only benefit local passengers, it will provide a huge boost to the whole city, improving connectivity to a world-leading academic hub while unlocking opportunities for growth and local business across the region,” he said.
“This is just another step in our efforts to create a thriving, well-connected and passenger-focused rail network to support communities for generations to come.”
The new facility, which is expected to serve 1.8 million passengers a year, will be Cambridge’s third station, acting as a key transport link between the biomedical campus and international gateways such as Stansted Airport and Eurostar.
It will also form part of the proposed route of the future East West Rail line, which would connect Oxford and Cambridge.
Katie Frost, Network Rail’s director of routes for Anglia, said the creation of a station to serve the “vitally important and growing” biomedical campus was an important development.
“Rail remains an environmentally sustainable form of transport and I know the Minister’s announcement will be welcomed by customers and the communities we serve in Cambridgeshire and beyond,” he said.
Cambridge Biomedical Campus Limited chief executive Kristin-Anne Rutter said the new station would make the campus more sustainable by allowing staff, patients and visitors to access its facilities without a car.
“This is a campus dedicated to improving human health, so anything that has the potential to reduce air pollution and reduce pressure on our local roads is also very welcome,” he added.
