New £250m railway station to open in UK city – 9 trains an hour

A new railway station will open in Cambridge next month, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. Trains will begin calling at Cambridge South station next to Europe’s largest medical research facility from June 28.

It will see up to nine trains an hour from Cambridge, as well as direct services to stations including London King’s Cross, London Liverpool Street, Birmingham New Street, Brighton, Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport. Services will be operated by Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink and CrossCountry.

Rail minister Lord Hendy said: "Cambridge South will open up access to jobs, homes and world-class facilities for people across the region, boosting the growth of the Biomedical Campus as one of the most important engines of growth in the country."

The project to build Cambridge South, which is expected to be used by 1.8 million passengers per year, was primarily funding by a £250million Government investment.

It received a total of £5m in contributions from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, and the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership.

The station features a green roof of solar panels and a rainwater catchment system involving a wildflower meadow.

According to the DfT, Cambridge South will be the first station branded under Great British Railways (GBR), an upcoming public sector body tasked with overseeing the country's railways.

Research carried out at the nearby Cambridge Biomedical Campus addresses some of the most pressing global healthcare challenges.

This includes developing techniques for spotting cancer early and understanding dementia.

The campus generates £4.7billion each year for the UK economy, expected to rise to £18.2bn by 2050 alongside a doubling of its 20,000 employees.

Lord Hendy said: "As the first new Great British Railways branded station, the opening is an important milestone for our railways and a sign of the real change public ownership will deliver.

"Faster connections supporting economic growth, thousands more jobs and homes, and a railway that works for the communities it serves."

Network Rail Chief Executive Jeremy Westlake said: "Cambridge South station will significantly improve travel and connectivity for campus staff, visitors and the wider community for many years to come.

"Thousands of people have worked tirelessly on this fantastic project to build a modern, accessible and sustainable station that reflects the excellence of the work that is being undertaken in Europe’s largest biomedical facility."