Green light for new station in Chelmsford
Landslide blocks Oban route
CONSTRUCTION work on a new station for north east Chelmsford is set to begin after a contract between Essex County Council and Network
Rail was signed just before Christmas. It is the first new station to be built on the Great Eastern Main Line for more than a century.
The new station, Beaulieu Park, is expected to be open by the end of 2025, or early 2026, and is being built in conjunction with the Chelmsford North
East Bypass. Funding of £218 million is being provided by the Government’s Housing and Infrastructure Fund, together with £34 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and developer Countryside Zest.
A key part of a wider regeneration of the Beaulieu Park estate with up to 14,000 homes, the new station will have three platforms with a central loop line, enabling stopping services to call at the station, while allowing fast trains to pass through unimpeded.
Facilities will include step-free access, ticket vending machines, a gate line, toilets and retail or catering space, along with parking for 700 cars and 500 cycles – plus a bus interchange. There will be local pedestrian and cycle routes to the station.
Beaulieu Park will relieve pressure on the town’s existing station and help reduce local congestion and pollution.
THE line between Crianlarich and Oban was blocked by a landslide on December 19, near Falls of Cruachan, close to Loch Awe. The slip occurred due to a high volume of water flowing down from privately-owned land above the railway after a thaw in the previous week’s freezing weather.
Network Rail teams completed temporary repairs but worked through the Christmas holiday to lay new track. Engineers removed more than 200 tonnes of landslip material and installed a barrier system to protect the railway while more extensive work was carried out, allowing the line to reopen on December 27 albeit with a speed restriction.
Long-term repairs continued into the new year.