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Waterbeach (Cambs) station relocation.

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Magdalia

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Latest news on Waterbeach here:

www.bbc.co.uk

New railway station in Waterbeach to have cafe and waiting room

The authority says it "listened to residents" while developing its plans for the site.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

A new railway station in a village could include a cafe, waiting room and toilets.

The station in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, is due to open next year and will replace the existing one, which does not have any of these amenities.

The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) is funding the project alongside Homes England, to serve the village as thousands of new properties are built.

The GCP said the next step would be finalising the designs for the station, if funding and approval was found for the proposed facilities.
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windjabbers

windjabbers

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Looks like they have started to mark out where the access road is going to be. Passed yesterday! BW DC
 

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windjabbers

windjabbers

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Sorry for the quality, but passed on the train today and this is the access road which seems to be coming along…
 

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dk1

dk1

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windjabbers said:
Just been passed the site again - the access road now looks complete. Understand that work on the station will start in the Autumn.
Click to expand...
Cheers for the update. So much going on in the Cambridge area and so good to see.
 
windjabbers

windjabbers

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I understand that works has now started on site.

Also there is this slideshow from some recent stakeholder fourm - here

Which set out some of the timescales including summer 28 opening.
 
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Will the old station site be retained after the new one opens, for evacuation reasons in case of an emergency? I suppose demolishing the old station would cost more money than just leaving it in place.
 
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mr_moo

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No. Waterbeach isn't big enough to warrant two stop ad thus the extra time in the timetable.
Anything left would need to be maintained so items close to track, such as platform copers, are likely to be removed, and items further from the track will either be demolished or fenced off and abandoned.
Even if left for 'emergency use', it would need to be inspected and repaired - it wouldn't be worth it in the long term.
 
Farigiraf

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Train Maniac said:
Its not like there is much in the way of architectural merit at the current station...
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It's not really about heritage, more that for many current residents of the village, Waterbeach station would go from being in walking distance to requiring a long walk (too long for regular commuting), cycle ride or short drive. It wouldn't even be a particularly nice cycle or walk, as the multi-storey station car park will turn much of the village into a station access road.

For how small the village is, 372,000 annual entries/exits is really quite good, and given the (relatively) small size of the car park, much of that travel will be commuters from within the village. That's a substantial number of established travel patterns that'd be disrupted to make way for the (fully speculative) estimated demand from residents of the New Town.

Sure, there'd be some people moving to Waterbeach due to the (comparatively) affordable homes within commuting distance by rail to Cambridge and London, but there are no guarantees. If there weren't capacity constraints, there'd definitely be merit in keeping both stations, as rather than this project being a 'relocation', it's more like closing 'Waterbeach Village' station and opening a separate 'Waterbeach New Town' station.

Presumably some of the more optimistic estimates for demand from the new station do predict higher usage at the new station than the current 372k, in which case it's a net positive to have the new station. If any of that higher-density development right by the station (shown in some DevCo images) happens then I can certainly see it exceeding 500k. But this is certainly a project with both many winners and many losers.
 
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Magdalia

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I passed through Waterbeach on the bus recently. That gave a proper view of the village, not the one sided view obtainable from the train.

The 2021 population of Waterbeach was just over 5k, so probably 2-2.5k houses. Only a few of them are near the existing station, which is on the very south east edge of the village, with houses only on the north western side of the station. The other three sides are flood plain so unsuitable for building. Furthermore, a big chunk of the space on the north western side of the existing station, and within walking distance, is taken up by a large village green with no houses on it.

I estimate that, of the existing village population, those nearer to the existing station location than the new station location are in the minority. Only the small number between the existing station and the village green will be inconvenienced significantly.

The new town will be far bigger than the existing village, and on the north side. It will have 11k homes, so a population at least twice that. The new town will be at least three times bigger than the existing village, see here:

turnstoneestates.com

Cambridge - Waterbeach New Town - Turnstone Estates

A major 1,200 acre site for a linked sustainable urban extension to Cambridge for about 11,000 homes. The ownership of the site is split between the Ministry of Defence and a local landowners Trust. The local landowners element of the project is led by Turnstone in a joint venture comprising...
turnstoneestates.com turnstoneestates.com

Cambridge – Waterbeach New Town​

Living / Current
A major 1,200 acre site for a linked sustainable urban extension to Cambridge for about 11,000 homes.
Click to expand...

The existing station is a long way from the new town, the new station is a key part of making the new town a "linked sustainable urban extension to Cambridge". The new station will also be superior in almost every respect, the current station isn't fit for purpose at current usage levels.

I'm old enough to remember Stevenage station relocation in 1973. The need to move Waterbeach is similar. A few people in Stevenage Old Town were inconvenienced when the station was moved, but I think it would be hard to find anyone now who would claim that the old station should have been left as it was.
 
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