A new railway station for Waterbeach has moved another stage closer after the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) executive board agreed the station’s full business case and backed the next steps for its construction.

The new railway station has been designed to meet the needs of the growing community in Waterbeach, where 11,000 new homes are being delivered.

It will provide wider and more accessible platforms, and longer trains will be able to call at the station in the future. Onward journeys on foot or by bike will be made safer with the Waterbeach Greenway, and there will be a connection to the Waterbeach to Cambridge busway.

Cllr Brian Milnes, chair of the GCP executive board said: “Waterbeach is growing rapidly – with thousands of new houses set to be built in the next 20 years. More importantly it will become the place people call their home. To do this they need the infrastructure to help the buildings become a community and integrate with the existing village. Proper effective transport routes and choice in how people travel, are key to this process which is why our decision on the new railway station is so important.

“The station will be a significant improvement on the current, well used station. It will be more accessible, provide better integration with cycling and bus facilities and passengers won’t have the conflict with motor vehicles they currently experience with a level crossing splitting the old station in half. So it is great to have made progress we have and I look forward to seeing the new station develop.”

In June, members of the GCP’s joint assembly – which acts as an advisory forum for the executive board – examined the full business case for the new station and the process which will close the existing station once it’s been replaced.

At yesterday’s meeting, the executive board agreed the full business case, and the GCP can now enter contracts to build the new station. A consultation on the closure of the existing station, run by the Department for Transport, is expected towards the end of the year.

For more information on this project, visit: www.greatercambridge.org.uk/waterbeachstation

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