Soham railway station

Last updated

Soham
National Rail logo.svg
First day of Soham railway station - platform from north.jpg
The platform at Soham railway station
General information
Location Soham, East Cambridgeshire
England
Coordinates 52°20′03″N0°19′40″E / 52.33415°N 0.32770°E / 52.33415; 0.32770 Coordinates: 52°20′03″N0°19′40″E / 52.33415°N 0.32770°E / 52.33415; 0.32770
Grid reference TL587732
Owned by Network Rail
Managed by Greater Anglia
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeSOJ
History
Original company Ely and Newmarket Railway
Pre-grouping Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 September 1879 (1879-09-01)Opened
13 September 1965 (1965-09-13)Closed
13 December 2021 (2021-12-13)Re-opened
Location
Soham railway station

Soham railway station is a station on the Ipswich–Ely line, serving the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire. The original station operated between 1879 and 1965. It was reopened in 2021.

Contents

History

Soham station originally opened on 1 September 1879. [1]

The original station and buildings in 1912 Soham railway station.jpg
The original station and buildings in 1912

On 2 June 1944, the station was destroyed in the Soham rail disaster, when a munitions train carrying high explosive bombs caught fire and blew up, killing two and damaging over seven hundred buildings. The driver, Benjamin Gimbert, and fireman, James Nightall, were both awarded the George Cross for preventing further damage which would have occurred if the rest of the train had exploded. The signal box, also damaged in the explosion which resulted in the death of signalman Frank Bridges, is now preserved on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

The station was closed to passengers on 13 September 1965, [1] [2] but the line remained open both as a passenger route and for a heavy service of freight trains running principally between Felixstowe Docks and the Midlands.

Following many years of local campaigning, a new station was opened, on the same site, on 13 December 2021, with services operated by Greater Anglia. [3] [4] [5]

Reopening

Overall view of the new station. First day of Soham railway station - view of platform from footbridge.jpg
Overall view of the new station.

Since closure a local campaign had run to reopen the station. [3] [4] In February 2011 East Cambridgeshire District Council obtained funding for a study into a possible reopening. [6] In January 2013 Network Rail released a five-year upgrade plan, which included reopening Soham station as part of improvements to the Ipswich to Ely Line. [7]

A Network Rail study concluded that building a new station on the existing infrastructure was feasible and that the current line could support an additional stop at Soham. Although Soham was unsuccessful in a bid submitted to the New Stations Fund second round, [8] funding was obtained from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) and Cambridgeshire County Council to progress the next stage of design work with Network Rail. [9]

Enabling works for the new station by Network Rail [10] [11] [12] started in autumn 2020, and main construction started in March 2021. The station was opened in December 2021. [5]

There are no current plans for direct services to Cambridge, but the CPCA has expressed support for the idea in a future phase of the project. Mayor James Palmer said "the delivery of Soham station gives us a much stronger case to go to Government and Network Rail and lobby for the reinstating of the Snailwell loop which will provide a direct service between Ely, Soham, Newmarket and Cambridge". [12]

Facilities

The station has a single 100-metre (330 ft) platform capable of accommodating a four-car train. A stepped footbridge spans across the railway to an existing right of way – as well as being future proofed for a potential second platform and lifts. The station also has a drop off and pick up point, cycle parking and a 50 space car park. [13] [14]

Services

Soham station's location of the Ipswich to Ely line Ipswich-Ely line.png
Soham station's location of the Ipswich to Ely line

The typical off-peak service frequency is one train every two hours in each direction between Peterborough and Ipswich via Bury St Edmunds. [15] All services are operated by Greater Anglia using Class 755 bi-mode trains.

Preceding station National Rail logo.svg National Rail Following station
Ely
Greater Anglia
Limited service
  Historical railways  
Ely
Line and station open
 Great Eastern Railway
Line open, station closed

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References

  1. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 214. ISBN   1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. ↑ Village history Soham Museum
  3. 1 2 Soham Train Station Campaign Archived 7 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 "New £47m rail link for Ipswich". EveningStar24. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Reconnecting Soham". Network Rail Media Centre.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ East Cambridgeshire District Council (8 February 2011). "Is the dream of a Soham Railway Station about to come true?".
  7. ↑ "Region to benefit from huge railways investment" East Anglian Daily Times, 8 January 2013
  8. ↑ "Nineteen bids for New Stations Fund second round". trundleage.co.uk. 22 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Elworthy, John (24 January 2019). "New rail station for Soham to be unveiled at public meetings in Soham - here's what it could look like". Ely Standard. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  10. ↑ "Combined Authority seals deal for Network Rail to build Soham station". Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. 6 November 2019.
  11. ↑ "Network Rail signs contract with combined authority to build £21m rail station for Soham". Ely Standard. Archant Community Media Ltd. 7 November 2019.
  12. 1 2 "Soham Station will be a platform for better local rail services". Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority. 25 September 2019.
  13. ↑ Comfort, Nick (March 2020). "Soham station gets go-ahead". Today's Railways. No. 219. Sheffield: Platform 5. p. 19. ISSN   1475-9713.
  14. ↑ "Soham station" (PDF). Network Rail. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "Timetable 07: Ipswich to Cambridge and Peterborough" (PDF). Greater Anglia. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
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