Network Rail, the UK’s rail infrastructure manager, has awarded a £93.4m ($113.1m) contract to Murphy Group to build the majority of the new Cambridge South station.
The station will be two stories tall, have four platforms and be operated by Greater Anglia. It will be located on the London-Cambridge main line and Network Rail said it could be developed to also serve the East-West line.
The station site is close to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and a housing development is planned, with 4,000 new homes likely to be built in the vicinity.
While plans include step-free platform access and “capacity for 1,000 cycle parking spaces”, the amenities listed by Murphy do not include a ticket office. The UK rail sector is currently fighting over proposals to drastically cut the number of ticket offices in stations as operating companies attempt to modernise the network. Unions say the proposals are a "back door" to staffing cuts.
Cambridge South is the second station development contract awarded to Murphy, following Beaulieu Park, north of Chelmsford. Both will be Greater Anglia-run stations.
Along with the station building, significant track work will be carried out by Murphy, along with Alstom and the South Rail Systems Alliance in Cambridge. This work includes:
- Installing two additional track loops to accommodate a four-platform station
- Enhancements to Shepreth branch junction
- Modification to the railway on the southern approach to Cambridge station
- Provision for overhead line electrification infrastructure and a substation
- Modification of existing signalling equipment
- Closure of two private-level crossings and provision of alternative access
The station is planned to open in 2025 and the contract agreement signals that the work is on time.
Network Rail’s route director for Anglia Katie Frost said: "Awarding the delivery contract is a significant milestone for the Cambridge South project, which will allow us to complete this exciting new station for Cambridge."
