The long-awaited Cambridge South station is set to open in late June, marking a significant milestone as the first station to feature the full Great British Railways (GBR) branding, the government has confirmed. The station, situated adjacent to the city's Biomedical Campus—Europe's largest medical research centre—will provide direct rail connections to London, Brighton, and Stansted airport, along with up to nine trains per hour to central Cambridge.
Details of the Opening
Services will commence at Cambridge South on Sunday, 28 June, according to the Department for Transport (DfT). The station is expected to accommodate 1.8 million passengers annually. The DfT noted that the adjoining Biomedical Campus is projected to contribute £18.2 billion to the UK economy by 2050, with its workforce likely doubling to 40,000, partly due to the improved transport links.
The station, which is Cambridge's third, was originally scheduled to open in 2025 but faced delays, partly because of the collapse of a contractor responsible for electrical fittings.
Government and Official Statements
Rail minister Peter Hendy stated that Cambridge South, built with £250 million in government investment and a small private sector contribution, would “open up access to jobs, homes and world-class facilities for people across the region, boosting the growth of the Biomedical Campus as one of the most important engines of growth in the country.” He 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 of Network Rail, said the station would “significantly improve travel and connectivity for campus staff, visitors, and the wider community for many years to come.” He highlighted that “thousands of people have worked tirelessly on this fantastic project to build a modern, accessible and sustainable station that reflects the excellence of the work that is being undertaken in Europe’s largest biomedical facility.”
Design and Branding
The station's permanent signage will use GBR brand colours, a design developed by a small group of ministers and advisers within the DfT to save costs, though the outcome is uncertain. The station will also feature the more professionally acclaimed new Railway Clock.
In the future, Cambridge South will serve the East West Rail line connecting to Oxford, although delays in initial services between Milton Keynes and Oxford, along with uncertainty about the exact route, mean direct trains between the two university cities are unlikely to start in 2030 as initially hoped.
HS2 Developments
Separately, HS2 Ltd has announced contracts to develop the high-speed railway's control centre and rolling stock depot in Birmingham. The new hub at Washwood Heath, to be built under an £856 million contract awarded to a joint venture of Taylor Woodrow and Aureos Rail, is expected to support over 1,000 jobs. The contract award was assessed by an independent review panel as part of efforts to ensure efficient delivery and cost control on the project, whose overall budget is being reassessed.
Minister Hendy described this as another milestone in getting HS2 back on track, stating that the railway would “create thousands of jobs across the West Midlands – from the construction teams transforming this former industrial site, to the skilled workforce who will operate this state-of-the-art facility for decades to come.”
