New train station worth £200 million to be built in south Cambridge by 2025, benefitting leading facility

A third rail station is set to be allocated in Cambridge within its southern region and work has already begun on the site with completion expected within two years. It will be the third rail station to be in operation in Cambridge following on from its central station and Cambridge North.

The government is supporting the building of the new station and is prepared to significantly back the construction by offering £200 million in funding. The station will consist of four platforms and allow much better access to Cambridge's southern parts.

The station will be located right next to Cambridge Biomedical Campus, giving visitors a much more convenient route to the facility. It will also allow the world's best researchers and scientists to converge at the site. By having more of the world's leading academics accessing the most prominent medical research and health science site in Europe, it can propel Britain into reaching its government's aim of scientific supremacy by 2030.

Many leading institutions are based at the biomedical campus such as Cancer Research UK, AstraZeneca, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Abcam, the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology plus many more. The campus is also currently home to three hospitals including Royal Papworth Hospital, Rosie Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

In the next decade, Addenbrooke's Hospital is in line to undergo a rebuild whilst two new hospitals in Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital and Cambridge Children's Hospital will be built. This will take the number of hospitals on Cambridge Biomedical Campus up to five and comes amidst recent news that more than 40 new hospitals are set to be built in Britain by 2030 as part of the New Hospital Programme.

Rail Minster, Huw Merriman, announced the news today and spoke on who would be aided by the new rail station and what it would mean for Cambridge as a whole. He stated: "This brand-new station will not only benefit local passengers but deliver a major boost to the entire city, improving connectivity to a world-leading academic hub while unlocking local business and growth opportunities across the region."

Whilst the new station is built, 300 new jobs will be formed within the local area whilst there will be even more growth by 2031 as 27,000 jobs are projected to be created and 4,000 new houses are set to be built. Once the site is completely finished, the travel network is set to receive a major boost in the area as the station will provide the main link between Cambridge Biomedical Campus and foreign transport sectors including the Eurostar and Stanstead Airport.

Network Rail's route director for Anglia, Katie Frost, spoke positively on the announcement and expects the new station to be popular amongst people. She commented: "It's an exciting time for the railway in Cambridgeshire with a green light to deliver a new station that will serve the vitally important and growing biomedical campus. Rail continues to be an environmentally sustainable form of transport and I know the minister's announcement will be welcomed by the customers and communities."

The station is projected to be visited by just under two million passengers per year and will be included in the proposed East-West Rail line route. This new route, costing £5 billion, will allow Oxford and Cambridge to be connected with a direct link between one another whilst economic growth in the region of £103 billion will be reached.

Executive Director at Cambridge Biomedical Campus Limited, Kristin-Anne Rutter, touched on the news and what it can help achieve. She mentioned: "We are delighted that the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is to get its own railway station in less than 2 years' time. Better public transport links will be critical in fulfilling our vision of a more sustainable campus."

Rutter also spoke on the necessity of the new station due to the large number of visitors the facility welcomes and the difficulties of accommodating car travellers. She clarified: "Currently, there are around five times as many visits to the site as there are car parking spaces. We have to find ways of making it easier for the thousands of staff, NHS patients and visitors arriving daily to get here without needing to use a car."

Elsewhere, the government is planning on improving train services in Manchester with work set to commence at Manchester Victoria Station and Salford Crescent. The aim is to reduce delays and eliminate congestion in the transport sector of one of Britain's largest populated cities.