First look at under-construction Cambridge South railway station as mayor describes it as ‘a cut above’

The opening date for Cambridge South railway station is now set to be the end of 2025, according to mayor Dr Nik Johnson, as a tour of the construction site gave an early impression of what it will look like.

The new station, which will serve Cambridge Biomedical Campus, is expected to serve an estimated 1.8 million passengers a year.

Dr Johnson, the Labour mayor of the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, visited the building works on Friday, 6 September.

He welcomed the new station, but warned it could face “challenges” in terms of passenger numbers in the future and said it was important “to be mindful of the kind of ambition that the Biomedical Campus and indeed the wider region the government has”.

He told the Cambridge Independent that the opening date for the station was going to be “towards the end” of next year and noted that the station was designed to accommodate future East West Rail services “because East West Rail could possibly use a southern approach” into the city, but said “it was the right thing to do to decouple the delivery from East West Rail… to make sure we aren’t always beholden to some decisions that were going to be taken elsewhere”.

The Combined Authority pushed for Cambridge South to be a standalone project, separate from the East West Rail link from Oxford to Cambridge, to speed up its delivery.

The former Conservative government announced around £200million in funding last year towards the build.

The mayor heard that the new station will help passengers to connect to destinations such as central London, Stansted Airport and Birmingham.

There will be step-free access to all four platforms, accessible toilets, cycle parking for 1,000 bikes to encourage active travel, a drop-off area and access to the station for pedestrians on both sides. The station will be managed and served by Greater Anglia, with other train operators expected to call at the station.

On his tour, Dr Johnson gained an initial view of the architectural shape and construction materials of the building, as well as an impression of the internal spaces.

He said: “I was impressed with the progress and also, when I was up close, the design and the architecture – it’s a cut above. Cambridge South will be a real boost to the city and region from day one of opening and it was exciting to see the project really taking shape.

“A growing economy needs investment in infrastructure, which is why the Combined Authority and local partners worked tirelessly to accelerate the delivery of Cambridge South. Something that was going to arrive years later with East West Rail is now just around the corner.”

The Biomedical Campus is expected to accommodate 27,000 jobs by 2031 as part of its expansion. The Cambridge Local Plan 2018 identifies the campus and the Cambridge Southern Fringe as an area of major change.

It is envisaged that by 2031 new housing developments across the Cambridge Southern Fringe comprising an estimated 4,000 new homes will have been built.

Given the projected development, the mayor warned: “There will be some challenges in the longer term. We need to be mindful of the kind of ambition that the Biomedical Campus and indeed the wider region the government has but at the moment, I’ve been reassured about the capacity and some of the modifications that they’ve done with the tweaks around the design to make sure that passenger flow is going to be optimised.”

Nick Kirby, managing director, Cambridge Biomedical Campus Ltd, said: “Cambridge Biomedical Campus is a global centre for health, education and life sciences.

“It is vital that more people can get here on public transport, as it cuts our carbon footprint and reduces traffic on local roads.

“This new station is an important step in achieving these goals. It promises to be an exemplar for the role infrastructure investment has in promoting environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

Charlotte Summers, director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, said: “This new station will be a boost to staff at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute, many of whom can’t wait to hop on a train straight to the institute. But there is a much more important reason that we all welcome it so much.

“Every person in this institute is dedicated to reducing deaths from cardiovascular and lung disease, and one of the most significant contributors to those deaths is air pollution. Anything that cuts vehicles on our roads will benefit all our health.”

Natalie Allen, Network Rail principal programme sponsor, said: “It’s an exciting time for the railway in Cambridgeshire as we continue to build the fantastic new station.”

The £93.4million contract to build Cambridge South was awarded in October 2023 to J Murphy & Sons, which is working with Network Rail and delivery partners SRSA and Alstom.