Media centre

Monday 23 Oct 2023

Cambridge South station main construction contract awarded

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

• J Murphy and Sons Ltd awarded £93.4 million contract to build Cambridge South station.
• Passengers will benefit from quicker and easier access to the city’s biomedical campus – Europe’s largest centre of medical research and health science.
• New station will support 300 new construction jobs and forms part of the proposed East-West Rail route, which aims to unlock £103 billion of economic growth.

Following the Rail Minister’s commitment to fund the construction of Cambridge South on 5 June 2023, Network Rail has awarded the main works contract to build the new railway station to J Murphy & Sons Ltd (Murphy).

The £93.4 million contract includes work to begin main construction which will deliver a new two storey, four platform station on the West Anglia Main adjacent to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This will include:

• ticket vending machines
• lifts providing step free access to all platforms
• accessible toilets, baby change facilities, waiting area and space for retail/catering
• access for pedestrians and cyclists from both sides of the railway with capacity for 1000 cycle parking spaces
• modification to roads and crossings to facilitate access to the station

Murphy will work alongside our other integrated delivery partners, Alstom and the South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA), who are working to modify and enhance the rail infrastructure to support the new station which will include:

• remodelling of the existing track layout
• installing two additional track loops to accommodate a four-platform station
• enhancements to Shepreth branch junction
• modification to the railway on the southern approach to Cambridge station
• provision for overhead line electrification infrastructure and a substation
• modification of existing signalling equipment
• closure of two private level crossing and provision of alternative access

The enabling works are already underway with the establishment of the worksite compound, installation of overhead line masts and the front-walls of the platforms. Work will now continue to deliver the station through to completion, currently planned for 2025. 

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia said: "Awarding the delivery contract is a significant milestone for the Cambridge South project which will allow us to complete this exciting new station for Cambridge.

"I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Murphy, as we move into the main work phase and build on the early enabling work that has already been delivered." 

Joe Kennedy, Project Director for Murphy said: “We’re very excited to be continuing our work on Cambridge South Station.  Murphy has made significant progress over recent months completing the enabling works, commenced installation of all four platforms, station building piling and undertaken all groundworks to facilitate the track being realigned during a blockade in December 2023.

"We have forged a strong working relationship with Network Rail and our other delivery partners, SRSA and Alstom on this major infrastructure project and look forward to completing this station for the people of Cambridge.”

For more information about the Cambridge South station project please visit our project webpage: www.networkrail.co.uk/cambridge-south-station

Follow us on Twitter @networkrailANG using the hashtag #CambridgeSouth