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Cambridge South railway station

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Coordinates: 52°10′27″N 0°07′52″E / 52.1741°N 0.1310°E / 52.1741; 0.1310
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"Cambridge South" redirects here. For the hockey club, see Cambridge South Hockey Club. For the US high school, see Cambridge-South Dorchester High School.

Cambridge South
National Rail
Construction progress of the Cambridge South railway station as of 14 May 2024
General information
LocationCambridge Biomedical Campus
England
Coordinates52°10′27″N 0°07′52″E / 52.1741°N 0.1310°E / 52.1741; 0.1310
Platforms4 (planned)
Other information
Station codeCMS
Key dates
January 2023Construction began
28 June 2026Scheduled opening[1]
Location
Map

Cambridge South railway station is a railway station under construction in the south of the city of Cambridge, England. It will serve the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the adjacent suburb of Trumpington. The station will be on the Cambridge line and the West Anglia Main Line. Construction started in January 2023 and was originally scheduled to open in December 2025. However, the project was delayed twice (the latter being due to a contractor's bankruptcy) and is now scheduled to open on 28 June 2026. It will be the first station to carry Great British Railways branding.

Background

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History

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Trumpington railway station, close to the site of Cambridge South

A temporary station, Trumpington railway station, was once located approximately 570 m (1,870 ft) north of the current Cambridge South station site. It was specifically constructed for the Royal Agricultural Society's show for four days between 4 July and 8 July 1922. After the event concluded, the station was then permanently demolished. Nothing of the original station survives or is visible today.[2]

Between 1962, when Barnwell Junction station closed to passengers (and to goods four years later),[3] and 2017, when Cambridge North station opened, Cambridge station was the only passenger railway station serving the city of Cambridge.[4]

Proposal

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Another new station in Cambridge to the south of Cambridge station was proposed in 2017.[5] In August 2017, the Transport Secretary backed plans for a new station as part of the East West Rail plan,[6][7] with a possible opening date of 2021,[8][9] that could also include a light rail link.[10] An unsuccessful application was made to the New Stations Fund 2 in 2017,[11] but £5 million was allocated to the project in the November 2017 Budget Speech.[12]

Funding for Cambridge South station was announced in the budget of March 2020.[13] Three options for its location near Addenbrooke's Hospital were identified between the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway bridge on Cambridge Biomedical Campus to the north and the Addenbrooke's Road bridge to the south.[14] Network Rail stated that its preferred location for the station was at a site adjacent to the Biomedical Campus and the Guided Busway crossing[15] and submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application in June 2021 for a station on this site.[16]

In September 2022, the government announced Cambridge South as one of the "138 major infrastructure projects that the Government aims to fast-track, although "inclusion in the list [does] not guarantee funding, planning consent or approval at this stage".[17]

Funding approval

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In December 2022, the station was given a Transport and Works Act Order approval, which authorised construction of the station and track laying. The station will be fully accessible by people with disabilities and have 1,000 cycle spaces. Elsewhere, but as part of the works, improvements will also be made to Shepreth Branch Junction, and a new crossover will be installed at Hills Road.[18] Construction work then started in January 2023.[19]

Construction and facilities

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Railways around Cambridge
Legend
Fen Line
 Cambridge North (opened 21/05/2017)
Cambridge & St Ives branch
 Chesterton (01/1850-10/1850)
River Cam
Cambridge & Mildenhall Line
 Barnwell Junction (02/06/1884-31/10/1966)
Ipswich–Ely line (via Dullingham)
 Cambridge (opened 29/07/1845)
LNWR goods
Varsity Line
 Trumpington (04/07/1922-08/07/1922)
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway
 Cambridge South (due to open 28/06/2026)
Cambridge line
 Shelford
Stour Valley Railway
West Anglia Main Line

In October 2023, Network Rail awarded a £93.4 million contract for the construction of the station to J Murphy & Sons Ltd. It is to have four platforms and anticipates 1.8 million passengers per year.[20] The station was originally due to open in December 2025,[21][22] but in February 2025 it was announced that this would be delayed until early 2026 due to an upgrade to signalling across Cambridge.[23] In November the same year this was further changed to June 2026 as one of the subcontractors involved in the internal fit-out of electrical and mechanical systems of the station went into administration.[24] In May 2026, the Department for Transport announced that the station would open on 28 June 2026.[22] It will be the first station in the country to carry the Great British Railways (GBR) branding in advance of the full renationalisation of passenger services in England under GBR.[1][25][26]

Network Rail projects that 95% of passengers using the station will travel onwards by public transport, walking, or cycling.[27] The station will have no public car park, with its 15 spaces reserved for disabled drivers, staff, taxis, and pick-up/drop-off.[28] The station will have 1,000 bike spaces.[29] When work began in January 2023, Network Rail had estimated that the station would cost £173 million. As of 7 November 2025, the estimated cost had increased to £228 million, "due to a sub-contractor going into administration" and "additional signalling works that were not part of the original scope".[19]

Services

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Network Rail anticipates that all trains that currently pass through Cambridge South will stop once the station opens in June 2026.[30] It is planned that the station will have nine trains per hour consisting of CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Northern and Thameslink services.[31]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
  Future Services  
Foxton   Cambridge line   Cambridge
Shelford   West Anglia Main Line   Cambridge
Cambourne   East West Rail   Cambridge

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Bestwick, Alex (11 May 2026). "First New Great British Railways Station To Open Next Month". Railway Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  2. ^ "Disused Stations: Trumpington Station". disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ Findlay, Cait (27 January 2024). "Lost Cambridge station now a private home only visible from trains to Ely". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  4. ^ "Delayed £50m Cambridge North railway station opens". BBC News. 21 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. ^ "Cambridge South Station – Project Update" (PDF). cambridge.gov.uk. Cambridge City Council. 16 January 2017.
  6. ^ Josh Thomas (11 August 2017). "An Addenbrooke's train station has got the thumbs-up from the Transport Secretary". Cambridge News. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  7. ^ Josh Thomas (22 May 2017). "Cambridge looks ahead to another new train station at Addenbrooke's Hospital". Cambridge News. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  8. ^ Josh Thomas (20 June 2017). "ANOTHER new Cambridge train station could be here within four years". Cambridge News. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  9. ^ Thomas, Josh (22 August 2017). "Sustainable solutions must be found at new Cambridge railway station". cambridgenews. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  10. ^ Comber, Ben. "Light rail link will mean no need for Cambridge South station car park says mayor Palmer". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Nineteen bids for New Stations Fund second round – Proposed Railway Schemes". Proposed Railway Schemes. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Chancellor accepts East West Rail targets and strengthens plans with extra cash". www.railtechnologymagazine.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Government announce funding for Cambridge South station". 11 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Three locations for Cambridge South station unveiled". 20 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Cambridge South station's preferred location selected". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Cambridge South station". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Fast-track 138-project growth plan – full list". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  18. ^ "First look as Cambridge South station work begins after approval". Cambridgeshire Live. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b Lee, Matt (17 January 2026). "Spending rises by £55m on delayed Cambridge South station project".
  20. ^ "Cambridge South station building company gets £93m contract". BBC News. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  21. ^ Howgego, Emma (7 November 2025). "Railway station opening delayed for second time". BBC News. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Full steam ahead as date revealed for new railway".
  23. ^ Middleton, Siobhan (24 February 2025). "Cambridge South station opening pushed back". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
  24. ^ "Cambridge South railway station opening delayed for second time". BBC News. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  25. ^ Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (11 May 2026). "Date revealed for opening of new railway station". Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  26. ^ Topham, Gwyn (11 May 2026). "Delayed Great British Railways' first station to open at Cambridge South in June". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  27. ^ Coffey, Lesley (4 October 2022). "THE NETWORK RAIL (CAMBRIDGE SOUTH INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS) ORDER 2022" (PDF). PLANNING INSPECTORATE.
  28. ^ Sleator, Laurence (11 March 2025). "£200m Cambridge station to have 1,000 bike spaces but no car park". The Times. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  29. ^ "New £200m train station will boast 1,000 bike spaces – but no car park". The Independent. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  30. ^ "The big projects set to modernise Cambridgeshire in 2026". BBC News. 31 December 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  31. ^ "Cambridge South railway station opening date revealed". BBC News. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
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