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26.08.15

FGW and Arriva-backed Worcestershire station gets green light

Plans for the new £22m Worcestershire Parkway station have been given the green light by the county council yesterday (25 August).

The station will be served by First Great Western and Arriva CrossCountry, as well as backed by Network Rail, the local MP, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and regional councils.

Groundwork for the new rail station, which will link Cotswolds and Birmingham to Bristol lines, is due to begin by spring 2016. The station is set to open for services in the autumn of the following year.

It will comprise of a single platform on the Worcester to London line (North Cotswold line) and two platforms on the Birmingham to Bristol line, as well as a new building with booking office, toilets and retail.

Worcestershire Parkway overall view

Cllr John Smith OBE, Worcestershire County Council cabinet manager for highways, said: “The county council recognises how important a reliable and robust transport infrastructure is to the local economy, which is why we are committed to continuing to invest in this key are through several major projects including Worcestershire Parkway.

“As well as reducing journey times and congestion, the station will improve rail accessibility and connectivity with the rest of the country.”

It will be situated just outside of Worcester City close to the M5 near Norton.

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Comments

Paul Coenraats 28/08/2015 at 12:37

I hope that within the build they allow for the doubling of the Cotswold line to allow for a second Platform or Build an Island platform to allow for a additional line. I am sure this station will also encourage passenger growth beyond the commuting Park and Ride for access to Oxford and on to Cambridge as well as possible to Stratford if anything ever comes of a reopening of a link from Honeybourne.

Nonsuchmike 28/08/2015 at 13:15

Lack of foresight renders this scheme obsolete before it is even started. We @ Nonsuch Consulting wonder whether in their haste they have taken their collective eyes off the ball. Better far, we think, would be to build in dualling of the line towards London at this point at least and incorporate two platforms for the East/West route to link in with the (currently more major) Bristol/Birmingham interchange. Spending a couple of months more in the planning and groundwork preparation on this basis may cost an extra million, but will save possibly in excess of 20 million if such an upgrade is subsequently sanctioned as we believe that the future passenger numbers will more than justify such a "leap of faith" or common sense prudence as we prefer to call it. And that would be without taking into consideration any Cotswold Line "improvements" as mentioned above by Paul and many, many, other commentators. We would like to see the provisions for bus and other vehicular access to the site - in particular the park and ride aspect.

Michael Brooks 01/09/2015 at 20:21

I do agree that 'passive provision' for dualling the North Cotswold Line at this point must be made. Now that Worcestershire Parkway has the go-ahead, it is time to move the focus further south and consider a Gloucester Parkway. This city has lost out ever since Gloucester Eastgate was closed, with Cross-Country trains passing so close to the city but with nowhere to stop. The Parkway would be sited to the NE of the city, close to the A40 and A417 and not far from the M5 interchange.

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