UK: Network Rail has awarded J Murphy & Sons Ltd the contract to build the new Soham station, which will be served by Greater Anglia’s Ipswich – Peterborough services.
An £18·6m funding package for the project has been put together by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, and planning consent was secured from East Cambridgeshire District Council in June.
Enabling works are expected to begin this autumn, with main construction works to be completed by the end of 2021.
The contract announced on August 17 covers the construction of a single 99 m platform to accommodate four-car trains, with waiting shelters, lighting, information screens and a public address system; installation of a stepped footbridge to connect to an existing public right of way, with provision for the future installation of lifts for a potential second platform; construction of a drop-off point and a car park to accommodate 50 vehicles, with five spaces for blue badge holders; cycle parking and ticket vending machines.
The contract award ‘is one of the last milestones before we deliver the station that the Soham community has campaigned for’, said Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Mayor James Palmer. ‘People can’t wait to see shovels on site and boots on the ground. It’s been a top priority for me as Mayor and the Combined Authority hasn’t just funded the project, we have challenged the delivery timescales and pushed Network Rail hard to make sure this long-awaited scheme is delivered as quickly as possible. Our new approach to delivery has already saved us five months, and I am sure we can find other novel ways to speed this up.’
The original station at Soham closed in 1965.
