THE OPENING of the new Worcestershire Parkway station has been delayed until the New Year, having originally been scheduled to take place with the timetable change on 15 December.
The station is located at the intersection of the Cotswold line and the Birmingham to Cheltenham route, and will be served by Great Western Railway and CrossCountry. In early December both operators’ websites confirmed the delay, with final sign-off of the testing and commissioning process yet to be achieved. GWR, which will be the station operator, said: ‘After careful consideration, and in agreement with Worcestershire County Council, Worcestershire Parkway will now open early in the New Year. We will confirm the specific date as soon as we can.’
The county council has led the project to deliver the station, with Buckingham Group the lead contractor. The station will have a single platform for GWR’s Cotswold line services, while CrossCountry’s Cardiff to Nottingham services will call at a pair of platforms on the Birmingham to Cheltenham line.
Two stations were due to open on 15 December (after this issue went to press):
■ Warrington West, on the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) route between Liverpool and Manchester; and
■ Robroyston, on the Glasgow to Cumbernauld line in Scotland.
