Cambridge South railway station
Cambridge South railway station is a railway station under construction in southern Cambridge, England. It is planned to serve the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the adjacent suburb of Trumpington. The station will be on the Cambridge line and the West Anglia Main Line. Construction started in January 2023 and was originally scheduled to open in 2025. However it was delayed twice and is now not expected to open until at least June 2026.
Background
History
A temporary station, Trumpington railway station, was once located approximately north of the current Cambridge South station site. It was specifically constructed for the Royal [Agricultural Society of England|Royal Agricultural Society]'s show for four days between 4 July and 8 July 1922. After the event concluded, the station was then permanently demolished. Nothing of the original station survives or is visible today.Between 1966, when Barnwell Junction station closed, and 2017, when Cambridge North station opened, Cambridge Station was the only railway station serving the city of Cambridge.
Proposal
Another new station in Cambridge to the south of Cambridge station was proposed in 2017. In August 2017, the Transport Secretary backed plans for a new station as part of the East West Rail plan, with a possible opening date of 2021, that could also include a light rail link. An unsuccessful application was made to the New Stations Fund 2 in 2017, but £5million was allocated to the project in the November 2017 Budget Speech.Funding for Cambridge South station was announced in the budget of March 2020. Three options for its location near Addenbrooke's Hospital were identified between the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway bridge on Cambridge Biomedical Campus to the north and the Addenbrooke's Road bridge to the south. Network Rail stated that its preferred location for the station was at a site adjacent to the Biomedical Campus and the Guided Busway crossing and submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application in June 2021 for a station on this site.
In September 2022, the government announced Cambridge South as one of the "138 major infrastructure projects that the Government aims to fast-track, although "inclusion in the list not guarantee funding, planning consent or approval at this stage".
Funding approval
In December 2022, the station was given a Transport and Works Act Order approval, which authorised construction of the station and track laying. The station is expected to be fully accessible by people with disabilities and to have 1,000 cycle spaces. Elsewhere but as part of the works, improvements will also made to Shepreth Branch Junction and a new crossover installed at Hills Road. Construction work then started in January 2023.East West Rail
East West Rail is a major project to build a line between and Cambridge. In its 2023 Bedford–Cambridge preferred route announcement, the East West Rail Company proposes that its new alignment into Cambridge will do so via Cambridge South.Construction and facilities
In October 2023, Network Rail awarded a £93.4 million contract for construction of the station to J Murphy & Sons Ltd. It is to have four platforms and anticipates 1.8 million passengers per year., the construction of a second pair of tracks had started. New overhead catenary poles are in place and the original tracks have been shifted a few metres to the side to make way for the platforms.
, work had begun on fitout of the station building, including roof insulation, floors, glazing and internal walls.
In February 2025, it was announced that the station opening would be delayed until early 2026 due to an upgrade to signalling across Cambridge. However in November, this was further changed to June 2026 as one of the subcontractors involved in the internal fit-out of electrical and mechanical systems of the station went into administration. The station was originally due to open in December 2025