Cambridge railway station

Last updated • 7 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Cambridge
National Rail logo.svg
Cambridge station building.JPG
Station building in July 2009
General information
Location Cambridge, City of Cambridge
England
Coordinates 52°11′38″N0°08′17″E / 52.194°N 0.138°E / 52.194; 0.138
Grid reference TL462572
Managed by Greater Anglia
Platforms8
Construction
ArchitectSancton Wood, Francis Thompson
Other information
Station codeCBG
Classification DfT category B station
History
Opened29 July 1845
Passengers
2019/20Decrease2.svg 11.600 million
 Interchange Increase2.svg 0.627 million
Railways around Cambridge
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Cambridge North
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Cambridge
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LNWR goods
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Cambridge South
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Shelford
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Cambridge is served by several operators.

CrossCountry

CrossCountry serves the station with its Birmingham New Street service, via Leicester and Peterborough. This is operated using Class 170 diesel multiple units. There is typically an hourly service in each direction which commences at Cambridge. Some services extend to Stansted Airport. [20]

Great Northern

Great Northern serves the station as part of its service from London King's Cross, operating Class 387 and Class 700 electric multiple units.

Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia serves the station with three routes:

Summary

Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Ely   CrossCountry
  Stansted Airport or Terminus
Foxton or Royston   Thameslink
 Terminus
Great Northern
Whittlesford Parkway or Terminus  Greater Anglia
 
Whittlesford Parkway or Shelford   Greater Anglia
  Cambridge North or Terminus
Terminus  Greater Anglia
  Dullingham or Newmarket
 Future Services 
Cambourne   East West Rail
Oxford-Norwich
  Ely
  East West Rail
Oxford-Ipswich
  Bury St Edmunds
Disused railways
Lord's Bridge
Line and station closed
  British Railways
 Terminus
Histon
Line and station closed
  Great Eastern Railway
 
  Historical railways  
Harston
Line open, station closed
  British Railways
 Terminus
Barnwell Junction
Line open, station closed
  Great Eastern Railway
 
Terminus  Newmarket and Chesterford Railway   Cherryhinton
Line open, station closed

Future services

East West Rail

A new East West Rail is being developed allowing travel from Oxford to Cambridge and onto Norwich and Felixstowe without needing to go via London, which has not been possible since the Varsity line was closed in the 60s. The western section between Oxford and Bedford has already been given the go-ahead and partly built. The central section from Bedford to Cambridge is more difficult as parts of the Varsity route have been built on, for example by the guided busway. The preferred route from a new Cambridge South, via Cambourne (new station) then across the East Coast Main Line at a new station between St Neots and Sandy to the Midland Main Line in Bedford. [22] The government has committed £10 million of funding as part of the 2016 Autumn Statement to continue to develop the route. [23]

Local and regional bus services

Several local bus services by Stagecoach in Cambridge and Whippet Coaches stop immediately south-west of the main station building. There are 9 stops linking the railway with the city centre and other parts of Cambridge, including Addenbrooke's Hospital, and the surrounding area. The southern section of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway connects directly to the station, allowing buses to run from Trumpington via the station to St. Ives and Huntingdon. Buses also travel from the station out of the city to Sawston and Saffron Walden. A taxi rank is located just outside the main entrance.

Cambridge Cycle Point

Since February 2016, a 3-story cycle parking facility, with up to 2,850 spaces, has been open, named Cambridge Cycle Point. [24] It is located in a building just to the north of the main station entrance. The ground floor of Cycle Point has a cycle shop.

Accidents

On 30 May 2015 the 09:14 GTR Great Northern service from London King's Cross failed to stop when entering a platform and collided at low speed with the stationary train it was due to couple with shortly after 10:00 BST. No damage was caused but three passengers were slightly injured. [25]

Motive Power Depots

Main Shed

Cambridge Locomotive Depot 2 October 1960 Cambridge 2 Locomotive Depot 2067375 40ae0b3c.jpg
Cambridge Locomotive Depot 2 October 1960

The Eastern Counties Railway opened a small motive power depot at the station in 1845. This was replaced by a larger depot on the west side of the line at the north end of the station, in 1847 and this shed became a Great Eastern Railway shed in 1862. The shed was enlarged in 1913.

Cambridge was the principal shed of a main GE district and during World War 1 was recorded as having 101 drivers, 89 firemen under an inspector named G Dorrington. Repairs fell under a foreman fitter who had a staff of 70 men although responsibility for boiler repairs fell to the foreman boilermaker. There was also a wagon repair facility at the depot at this time led by a leading carpenter. Finally another foreman was charged with the day-to-day running of the depot as well as being responsible for the outstations such as King's Lynn, Ely, Mildenhall and seven others. A number of clerks would also have been employed at the depot. [26]

At the end of 1922 the Great Eastern shed at Cambridge had an allocation of 178 locomotives being the second biggest shed on the Great Eastern after Stratford shed. The allocation consisted of: [27] [ page needed ]

Class (LNER classification)Wheel ArrangementNumber allocated
B12 4-6-012
D13 4-4-013
D14 4-4-03
D15 4-4-016
E4 2-4-018
F3 2-4-2T3
F4 2-4-2T1
F7 2-4-2T4
J15 0-6-048
J16 0-6-014
J17 0-6-06
J18 0-6-02
J19 0-6-07
J20 0-6-011
J65 0-6-0T2
J66 0-6-0T4
J67 0-6-0T8
J68 0-6-0T1
J69 0-6-0T4
J70 0-6-0T Tram1

Further enlargement and improvement of facilities took place in 1932. Most significantly a mechanical coaling plant was bought into use as well as the construction of a new lifting shop and modern sand dispensers. [28]

Cambridge shed had two locomotives allocated for royal train workings at this time - Class D15 4-4-0s numbers 8783 and 8787 (known as the Royal Clauds) which were kept in pristine condition. [29]

Following nationalization in 1948 the shed was operated by British Railways Eastern Region. It was allocated shed code 31A at this time.

In the 1950s there was a dedicated pool of four drivers (known as the Royal Link) based at Cambridge who operated the two royal engines which were cleaned regularly. The locomotives were Class B2 4-6-0s numbers 61671 ‘Royal Sovereign’ and 61617 ‘Ford Castle’. The link system - which was operated throughout British Railways at this time was a career progression and at Cambridge these included Pilot Links (shunting), Branch Goods, Mainline Goods, Branch Passenger and Express links as well as route specific links to Bletchley, the GN (Hitchin) and Kettering routes. [30]

Cambridge shed received its first allocation of diesels in 1958. [31] The following year the last 2-4-0 locomotive in traffic on British Railways (Class E4 2-4-0 number 62785) was withdrawn from traffic and has been preserved in its GER guise of no 490 as part of the national collection. In 2018 it was on loan to Bressingham steam museum near Diss.

The shed closed 18 June 1962 and the demolition of Cambridge's loco shed building, repair shops and loco hoists leaving the shed offices and stores buildings took place in 1965. Some of the track in the former loco yard next to platform 6 was kept as engine sidings, [32] while the rest was made into a car park. [33]

Other sheds

The Great Eastern Railway opened a small motive power depot on the east side of the line at the south end of the station for its own and Great Northern Railway locomotives in 1879.

At the end of 1922 the Great Northern shed at Cambridge had an allocation of ten locomotives. The allocation consisted of: [27] [ page needed ]

Class (LNER classification)Wheel ArrangementNumber allocated
C1 4-4-22
C2 4-4-24
D2 4-4-04

This was closed by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1924, and used as a wagon works until it was demolished in 1985. The Bedfordshire and Cambridge Railway opened a small motive power depot on the west side of the line at the south end of the station in 1862. This was closed by the London Midland and Scottish Railway on 2 December 1935, but remained in use, unofficially until 1951. The building was demolished in 1964. [33]

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References

  1. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  2. Fellows (1976), p. 1.
  3. Fellows (1976), pp. 9, 10.
  4. Fellows (1976), p. 10.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fellows (1976), p. 24.
  6. Fellows (1976), pp. 21, 23.
  7. Vaughan (1997), pp. 134–135.
  8. Gray, Adrian (1976). "Cambridge's quest for a central station" (PDF). Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society. 22: 22–24.
  9. "The Re-signalling of Cambridge Station" (PDF). The Engineer : 642–643. 10 December 1926. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016 via Grace's Guide.
  10. "Cambridge-St Ives-March". East Anglian Railway Archive.
  11. "Cambridge - Part 8: Electrification and the end of British Rail". Disused Stations. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  12. "News & notes: Cambridge ceremony". The Railway Magazine . No. 1034. June 1987. p. 386.
  13. "West Anglia Great Northern Railway Limited 03007944". Companies House.
  14. Havergal, Chris (11 December 2009). "Developer goes bust - but station plan still on track". Cambridge News . Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  15. 1 2 "New platform opens". Rail Professional . 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  16. "Anger over huge queues at Cambridge railway station". Cambridge News . 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  17. "Greater Anglia Improvements Map" . Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  18. Biddle & Nock (1983), p. 18.
  19. "Enhancements programme: statement of scope, outputs and milestones" (PDF). Network Rail. 31 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  20. "Birmingham-Leicester-Cambridge-Stansted" (PDF). CrossCountry . Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  21. "Timetables". First Capital Connect . Archived from the original on 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  22. "Bedford to Cambridge". East West Rail. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  23. "Chancellor gives boost to East West Rail and Oxford- Cambridge Expressway in Autumn Statement". Richard Fuller MP. Archived from the original on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  24. "Half a million pound funding scheme to improve Cambridge station's Cycle Point cycle parking". Greater Anglia. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  25. "Two trains collide at Cambridge railway station". BBC News. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  26. Hawkins & Reeve (1987), p. 312.
  27. 1 2 Yeadon (1996).
  28. Hawkins & Reeve (1987), pp. 318–323.
  29. Hawkins & Reeve (1987), p. 335.
  30. Smith, John (December 2009). "Working through the links at Cambridge" (PDF). Circle Line. 101: 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  31. Page, Mike (May 2011). "Cambridge scene from Nationalisation to Dieselisation, Part 3: 1958-1965" (PDF). Circle Line. 105: 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  32. Network Rail Engine Sidings (2017).
  33. 1 2 Griffiths & Smith (1999), p. 141.

Bibliography

Further reading