Chesterton railway station

Chesterton
Location
Place	Chesterton
Local authority	City of Cambridge
Operations
Number of platforms	3 (proposed)
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Chesterton railway station

Location	Cambridgeshire
Proposer	Cambridgeshire County Council
Status	Proposed
cost estimate	£48.1 million[citation needed]
start date	2012/13
completion date	2015/16

Chesterton railway station is a proposed railway station that would be located in the Cambridge suburb of Chesterton. The official proposal from Cambridgeshire County Council, which has the backing of the rail industry, is to locate the station at Chesterton Sidings on the Fen Line, which runs from Cambridge to King's Lynn. The new station would complement the existing Cambridge station in Hills Road to the south of the city by serving locations to the north east of Cambridge, being within walking distance of Cambridge Science Park. The station would provide an interchange with Park & Ride and local Stagecoach bus services. Construction costs have been estimated at £21–£24 million,^[1] and a preliminary business case indicates a benefit-cost ratio of 9.6 to 1.^{[citation needed][when?]}

The station is likely^{[original research?]} to be connected to the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway providing access from Huntingdon, St Ives (including the park and ride site) and the proposed new town, Northstowe and nearby park and ride site.^[2]

More than £20 million of the cost would have been provided from the Regional Funding Allocation. However, in March 2010 the government announced that it was abolishing the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), and according to officers of the county council the station is now "at risk".^{[cite this quote]} Politicians went further, with Conservative election^{[clarification needed]} literature in April 2010 saying that the station would not happen.^{[citation needed]} Cambridge MP Julian Huppert has given his support to the project as has the leader of Cambridge City Council Sian Reid.^[1] Cambridgeshire County Council is hoping that infrastructure owner Network Rail will fund at least part of the station's construction.^[1]. In September 2011, Theresa Villiers, the Minister of State for Transport visited Cambridge, and discussed the proposed station with county council members, saying that the government was interested in further development of the council's proposal.^[3]

CAST.IRON

As a result of this, in April 2010, CAST.IRON^[4] revisited its suggestion from some years earlier to locate a one-platform railway at Milton Road, close to the former level crossing. It would be right next to the Business Park and directly opposite the Science Park, meaning a much shorter walk than a station at Chesterton Sidings.

The group claimed that such a station would be much cheaper, perhaps as little as £3 million if it could be constructed at the same time as the island platforms at Cambridge station in 2011, as this would avoid any additional possessions, and economies of scale could be achieved as the electrification could be done at the same time, for example.^{[citation needed]} CAST.IRON included its proposal as part of its submission^[5] to the DfT's Greater Anglia rail franchise consultation.

References and notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Unknown (2011-02-22). "'MP backs £21m rail project for Chesterton'". Cambridge News (Cambridge): p. 2, right-most column. 
2. ^ "New train station at Chesterton". Unclog Cambridge. http://www.unclogcambridge.com/benefits/chestertontrainstation/. Retrieved 2010-01-12. 
3. ^ McGurran, Deborah. "Rail minister sends positive signals on East rail plans". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14845920. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
4. ^ CAST.IRON stands for the Cambridge And St. Ives Railway Organisation.
5. ^ "CAST.IRON Greater Anglia submission to DfT consultation". http://www.castiron.org.uk/MiltonRoad. 

External links

• Cambridgeshire County Council - Local Transport Plan 2004-2011
• Cambridgeshire County Council - Local Transport Plan 2006-2011
• Cambridgeshire County Council - Tackling Congestion in Cambridgeshire; rail proposals
• CAST.IRON (Cambridge and St. Ives Railway Organisation)

Coordinates: 52°13′24″N 0°9′28″E / 52.22333°N 0.15778°E / 52.22333; 0.15778