Opening date confirmed for new Cambridge South railway station

Cambridge South station, located next to Europe’s largest medical research facility, is set to open in June with direct services to London, Birmingham, Brighton and both Gatwick and Stansted airports.

A new railway station serving Cambridge Biomedical Campus will open next month, the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed.

Trains will start stopping at Cambridge South station – situated beside what is Europe’s largest medical research facility – from June 28.

It will welcome up to nine trains per hour from Cambridge, alongside direct services to destinations including London King’s Cross, London Liverpool Street, Birmingham New Street, Brighton, Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport.

Services will be run by Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, and CrossCountry. The scheme to construct Cambridge South, which is anticipated to serve 1.8 million passengers every year, was chiefly funded by a £250 million Government investment.

It secured a combined £5 million in contributions from pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, and the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership.

The station features a so-called green roof, incorporating solar panels and a rainwater collection system with a wildflower meadow environment.

The DfT stated Cambridge South will be the first new Great British Railways (GBR) branded station. GBR is an forthcoming public sector body that will supervise Britain’s railways.

Research undertaken at Cambridge Biomedical Campus tackles some of the most urgent global healthcare challenges, including developing methods for detecting cancer early and understanding dementia. The campus contributes £4.7 billion annually to the UK economy, a figure projected to reach £18.2 billion by 2050 while its 20,000-strong workforce is expected to double.

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.

“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.”