New station for Waterbeach

Background

A planning application for up to 4,500 homes as part of the Waterbeach New Town development was approved by South Cambridgeshire District Council.

Part of the planning permission means that houses cannot be built until a new railway station is opened on the Cambridge to Ely railway line close to the new town.

To deliver this, we will be relocating the current railway station at Waterbeach. This will involve building a new railway station near to the new town and closing the existing station.

Our executive board formally agreed at its meeting on 7 November 2024 the outline business case for the new station. You can watch a recording of the meeting on YouTube.

Latest news

Delivery of the new Waterbeach railway station is officially underway, as work starts on the temporary haul road which will take construction traffic direct from the A10 to the new station.

The haul road, being built by Winvic Construction and funded by Homes England, is to minimise disruption to residents in Waterbeach village and will be complete in time for building works at the station to start next year.

Spencer Rail Engineering is designing and building the modern, purpose-built new railway station at Waterbeach New Town, jointly funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership and Homes England. It will have wider platforms, an accessible footbridge and lifts, 100 cycle spaces and electric vehicle charging points. It will be integrated with walking, cycling, and bus facilities.

Once Spencer Rail Engineering has completed the new station’s design, construction is set to start in autumn 2026 and the station planned to be open by summer 2028.

The process to close the existing station is being led by the Department for Transport. Any closure would not take place until the new station is operational.

Spencer Rail Engineering were behind the recent £35 million upgrade of sidings at Cambridge railway station. As part of the Waterbeach project, they have committed to an £11m social value action plan, including local school visits and using local suppliers.

Waterbeach is more than doubling in size, and the existing station will no longer meet the needs of the growing community.  The new station will have wider platforms, an accessible footbridge, and better integration with walking, cycling and bus facilities. 

The GCP is providing £20m of the £37m needed for the new station, as it will help unlock thousands of new homes and deliver new, sustainable transport links. The remaining £17m will be funded by the Homes England and the developer will pay back this contribution in the coming years. 

The Department of Transport (DfT) will hold a consultation on whether to close the existing station. 

We expect construction of the new station to be complete in early 2028. 

Once construction of the new station is complete, a period of testing will be undertaken by Network Rail. An accurate timescale will be provided as construction progresses.

The new station will have wider platforms, an accessible footbridge, and better integration with walking, cycling and bus facilities. 

You’ve said you would like to see additional public facilities at the new station and we’re exploring this with the planning authority and the design team. We’ll provide further updates on this as our plans progress. 

Formal consultation has been carried out through the planning process. We’ll continue to engage with the local community and ensure the new station meets planning requirements.

There have been no major changes to the approved planning application for the new station.  Minor amendments to the design may be required for which we will follow the relevant processes.

The new station will be constructed on both sides of the existing track with the aim of minimising unnecessary traffic movements. For construction on the west side of the site, vehicles will use an alternative access road that avoids the village, to reduce disruption to residents. On the east side, it will be necessary to use local roads but vehicle movements will be kept to a minimum.

The existing train service pattern will not change.

The station will be accessible and lifts will enable those who cannot use the steps to cross the platforms. 

The construction of the station will be carried out in line with the approved planning application, creating a sustainable design and using construction methods to mitigate the carbon impact. The project is aiming for a biodiversity net gain (BNG) of 10%, which will improve the current local habitat and environment.

Lighting of the new station, the car park and access roads will be necessary for safety, however, the lighting will be targeted with light pollution and intrusion causing a limited impact on local residents.