Paul Bristow calls Cambridge South’s opening vital for  transport, jobs and regional growth  

Paul Bristow calls Cambridge South’s opening vital for  transport, jobs and regional growth  

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow has said Sunday’s opening of Cambridge South Station will be a landmark moment for transport, jobs and growth in Cambridge and the region.  

The station is key to unlocking growth, opening up opportunity, and supporting better journeys in Cambridge, providing a direct rail link to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. All passing services will stop at the station and will serve up to nine trains per hour, meaning Cambridge South will make a difference from day one for those getting to work and patients using the three world class hospitals on site. It is expected to welcome 1.8 million passengers a year.  

The Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan sets out Paul Bristow’s ambition to triple the size of the regional economy by 2050. The life sciences sector in Cambridge alone is expected to support around 27,000 jobs by 2031. Cambridge South will make more these jobs accessible to talent from across the region.  

The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is one of the Europe’s most intensive sites for life sciences worth £4.7bn to the UK economy, and this could rise to £18.2bn by 2050. Cambridge South will be a key enabler of that growth.  

Cambridge South is also an important part of the Mayor’s plans to get Cambridgeshire and Peterborough moving. It will form a spine of stations for the city including the central and north stations, providing a foundation for better journeys in Cambridge and the wider region. 

Its accelerated delivery, years ahead of its original plan to come with East West Rail, was supported by early-stage funding from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. 

The station has been built with £250m funding from the government and including a £5m contribution from the Combined Authority. 

Paul Bristow said: “The opening of Cambridge South will be a landmark moment for transport, growth and job opportunities in our region.  Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority provided funding to bring Cambridge South forward, years ahead of East West Rail, so that workers and patients can start benefitting now, rather than in years to come. 

“The Cambridge Biomedical Campus is set to grow substantially and with up to nine trains per hour stopping at Cambridge South, this new station will support that development, attract new investment, and open up opportunities for good jobs for more people, driving our economy forward.”

For more on Cambridge South visit: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/our-work/our-routes/anglia/improving-the-railway-in-anglia/cambridge-south-station/