The delayed Cambridge South station will finally open in late June and become the first station to be given full Great British Railways (GBR) branding, the government has announced. The station, located beside the city's Biomedical Campus—Europe's largest medical research centre—will provide direct train services to London, Brighton, and Stansted airport, as well as up to nine trains per hour to central Cambridge.
Services will begin calling at Cambridge South on Sunday 28 June, the Department for Transport (DfT) said, with an expected 1.8 million passengers annually. The DfT noted that the adjacent Biomedical Campus is forecast to contribute £18.2bn to the UK economy by 2050, with employee numbers likely to double to 40,000, boosted in part by the new transport links.
The station, the city's third, was originally scheduled to open in 2025 but was delayed, partly due to the collapse of a contractor responsible for fitting out the electrics. Rail minister Peter Hendy said the £250m station, built with government investment and a small private sector contribution, would open up access to jobs, homes, and world-class facilities, boosting the Biomedical Campus as a key economic engine.
Hendy added: '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.' Jeremy Westlake, chief executive for Network Rail, said the station would significantly improve travel and connectivity for campus staff, visitors, and the wider community.
The station's permanent signage will feature GBR brand colours, designed by a small group of ministers and advisers within the DfT to save money. It will also display the new Railway Clock. The station will eventually serve the East West Rail line to Oxford, although delays mean direct trains between the two university cities are unlikely to start in 2030 as hoped.
Separately, HS2 Ltd announced contracts to develop the high-speed railway's control centre and rolling stock depot in Birmingham. The new hub at Washwood Heath, built under an £856m contract won by a joint venture of Taylor Woodrow and Aureos Rail, will support more than 1,000 jobs. Hendy said it was another milestone in getting HS2 back on track.
