Cambridge South, the new railway station that serves Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the Biomedical Campus has now opened, with the first passenger train stopping at 0635 on the morning of Sunday June 28th. There will be up to 9 trains an hour to the centre of Cambridge as well as a direct link from London and many other stations including Stansted Airport. The new station is the first in the country with the new Great British Railways branding, marking the Labour government’s work to bring rail back into public ownership.
While we welcome the opening of the new station, which will greatly improve transport options for all those working in the hospitals and businesses on the biomedical campus and make travel a lot easier for patients and nearby residents, the opening was tinged with sadness as we remember those who were killed and injured in the Bedford rail crash. Our thoughts are with all of those affected.
Cllr Katie Thornburrow, Leader of Cambridge City Council, was on the first train, which left Cambridge station at 0631 and arrived right on time four minutes later. Also on the train were around a hundred other passengers, keen to see the new station on its first day in operation, as well as staff from Greater Anglia, which has been a publicly run rail company since last October.
Cllr Thornburrow said “I don’t normally get up at 6am on a Sunday, but today I was up very early to catch the 0631 from Cambridge – and I wasn’t the only one. The train was the very first passenger train to stop at the newly opened Cambridge South station, and there were clearly a lot other people who wanted to see what it was like.
“One of the best things about the new station is that is has been designed to be sustainable, to enhance local biodiversity, and to use modern building materials, working to the BREEAM standards – that’s the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, the world’s leading sustainability assessment and certification method for masterplanning, infrastructure, and buildings.
“We’ve been waiting for this station for a while. The Secretary of State for Transport granted planning permission in December 2022 and detailed design approvals (such as the specific appearance and layout of the station building) were later approved by the planning authority, so it’s great to see it in operation. I visited it a few months ago when it was almost finished, and now with the GBR branding it shows what modern station design can offer.”
The station blends in with the nearby Hobson’s Park nature reserve, helping to protect valuable green space, recreational areas and wildlife habitats. As well as solar panels, it has a green roof with a wildflower meadow environment and a rainwater catchment system.
Read the Deparment of Transport press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cambridge-south-station-opens