THE NEW station at Cambridge North opened to passengers on Sunday 21 May, when new timetables were introduced across the network.
The £50 million station has been funded by the Department for Transport and developed by Network Rail in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council. It was originally projected to open in December 2016.
The station is operated by Greater Anglia and served by both GA and Govia Thameslink Railway’s Great Northern services. Direct trains operate from the station to London Liverpool Street, London King’s Cross, Ely and Norwich. GA intends direct services to Stansted Airport to be added from 2019, when the Norwich to Cambridge service is extended to the airport. CrossCountry’s Birmingham to Stansted service will pass through Cambridge North without stopping.
The three-platform station is located near the city’s science and business parks in the northern suburbs. It incorporates a 450-space car park and a 1,000-space cycle park, and is served by the city’s guided bus service and other local buses. GA claims the station uses the latest green technology, including solar panels providing up to 10% of its power.
The striking design with metal cladding on the outside of the building and footbridge incorporates a pattern based on a mathematical theory called the Game of Life by Cambridge mathematician John Conway.
Simultaneous to the station’s opening, GTR has introduced Class 387 EMUs on its Great Northern services to Kings Lynn. The EMUs, which have transferred from Thameslink, began operating GN services to Cambridge and Peterborough in October 2016. Power supply upgrades and platform extensions by Network Rail are planned to enable eight-car services to operate to King’s Lynn by the end of 2018.
