Cambridge South railway station opening delayed
The opening of Cambridge South railway station has been delayed.
Network Rail had hoped to complete the work by the end of this year, but now says it will open to passengers in “early 2026”.
The delay has been caused by two major linked projects on which the new station on the Biomedical Campus depends – Cambridge resignalling work and East Coast Main Line timetable changes.
In a letter to stakeholders, Network Rail says: “These two projects have had a significant influence on our plans to bring Cambridge South into service. If both milestones are successfully delivered as planned in December 2025, we will be able to open the new station in early 2026.
“While later than originally planned, the integrated infrastructure and timetable enhancements will ensure Cambridge South is fully equipped to meet the needs of the Biomedical Campus, the local community, and the wider region for years to come.”
Network Rail says the two linked projects are “outside of the station project’s control” but “essential to ensuring a reliable train service can operate”.
Dates for the second stage of the Cambridge Resignalling, Relock and Recontrol (C3R) programme project are due to be confirmed soon, but the work is expected to be carried out around Christmas 2025.
Under the project, Network Rail is investing £194million in renewing the signalling system for the Cambridge area to improve efficiency and reliability for passengers and freight users, and introduce digital signalling technology to prepare the region for the ‘Digital Railway Ready’ programme.
The work is being delivered over four stages, with the first completed over Christmas 2024, when engineers from Alstom replaced a 40-year-old signalling control panel for Cambridge North and Ely with new digital workstations, brought new signals into operation and prepared for stage 2 commissioning.
The C2R programme will also improve safety, including at seven level crossings.
The second stage will include resignalling, relocking and recontrol of the area south of Cambridge station, including the new Cambridge South station, replacement of the old NX panel with a new digital display workstation at Cambridge signal box and an upgrade of the Meldreth Road level crossing to full barrier with CCTV.
Details of stages three and four are to be confirmed but will widen work to other areas in the region.
Meanwhile, a new timetable for the East Coast Main Line is due to be introduced in December 2025. Both Great Northern and Thameslink services from London King’s Cross and St Pancras travel on the line on their way to Cambridge. The new timetable is required to enable services to run to Cambridge South.
The changes will also enable more peak-time services between Cambridge and King’s Cross, faster journey times to London from stations including Cambridge and Foxton, and more evenly-spaced departure times.
In its letter to stakeholders, Network Rail adds: “We understand the importance of this station for the local community and the Biomedical Campus, and we are working hard to ensure train services can start operating as soon as possible.”
Construction of the station began in early 2023. The main station building has been completed and the railway systems upgraded.
During the West Anglian Main Line closure at Christmas, track junctions were reconfigured into their final alignments, connecting the final two tracks that will serve the station’s four platforms. And station contractor Murphy completed surfacing of the island platform, installed the secondary footbridge and continued fit-out work of the interior.
Contractors from the South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA) rebuilt the Shepreth branch junction, which will enable trains to increase their speeds from 30mph to 50mph after the second stage of the resignalling work is done.
Remaining upgrades on rail systems are due to be completed by SRSA by spring, while work on the main building by Murphy – including the fit out, mechanical and electrical systems installation, approach roads and the restoration and landscaping areas of Hobsons Park used in construction – is due to end this summer.
The station is due to feature step-free access to all four platforms, accessible toilets, cycle parking for 1,000 bikes, a drop-off area and access to the station for pedestrians on both sides. The station will be managed by Greater Anglia, with other train operators also due to stop there.
