In a major milestone for the keenly-awaited project, the Mayor’s focus on speeding up delivery means construction will start ahead of schedule – now beginning on 21 September 2020.
Work so far is on target. The third stage of the ‘GRIP*’ process – Network Rail’s eight-stage sequence for putting in rail infrastructure - has been completed on time and has been evaluated and signed off.
But instead of working through the GRIP 4-8 stages sequentially, the Mayor’s proposal asks the Board to fund GRIP stages 4-8 – which cover detailed design and actual construction to handover – as one compressed package. By cutting through the conventional delivery timetable, the Mayor has made it possible for work that would not usually begin until GRIP Stage 5 to be started immediately.
The Mayor’s challenging approach also means the project will come in under the budget previously set.
Board members will be asked to approve £18,636,889 of funding for the remaining phases.
The campaign to reinstate the Soham railway link, closed to passengers in 1965, has been going on locally for years, but was frustrated by delays before the project was taken over by the Mayoral Combined Authority.
Mayor James Palmer said: “It’s great news that we’ve pushed work on Soham station ahead. One of my top priorities as Mayor was to get shovels on site, cracking on with the work. I previously challenged Network Rail to look again at this project because the original timescales were unacceptable. We have worked closely with them and I’m delighted we are now at the stage where we can sign off the necessary budget and permissions to make this happen.
“People have campaigned long and hard to see this station up and running and it’s got huge support from the community it will serve. Plugging Soham back into the national rail network will bring the town huge advantages, smoothing the path for greater investment, better access to jobs for people who live there, and helping to make the planned economic and housing growth sustainable.
“This is a major milestone, but I will not rest until this station is delivered.”
The Phase 1 station will have a footbridge, car park, station forecourt, drop-off point and ticket machines. The proposed platform would be 102 metres long, and include waiting shelters, lighting, a public address system and information screens.
The completed station will serve 1,665 planned new homes in Soham by 2031 as well as helping drive the town’s economic growth. It will connect people to employment areas like Ely and Bury St Edmunds, also reducing pressure on the A142 and the whole local road network.
The Board will also be asked to authorise continued ‘Phase 2’ negotiation with Network Rail, the Department of Transport and the Freight Operating Companies for ‘Phase 2’ – which would, at a later date, see a second track (Ely to Soham) and a second platform at Soham.
Notes
1. *GRIP stands for Governance for Railway Investment Projects and is Network Rail’s framework for infrastructure delivery.
2. The £18,636,889 package to complete GRIP 4-8 is additional to the £3,450,000 agreed in October 2017, March 2018, and September 2019. It is £1,832,000 below the provision in the Medium Term Financial Plan.
3. The Implementation Agreement is the contract between the Mayoral Combined Authority and Network Rail for the delivery of single platform rail station at Soham.
4. The Mayoral Combined Authority assumed responsibility as Local Transport Authority through Article 8 of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017 with a statutory duty under transport legislation to achieve effective and efficient transport within the area.
4. Soham’s original station was opened 140 years ago this month, on 1 September 1879. It was destroyed 75 years ago in 1944, when a munitions train blew up. The station was closed to passengers on 13 September 1965, 54 years ago this month.