Worcestershire Parkway Regional Interchange

Not to be confused with Worcester Park railway station.
Worcestershire Parkway National Rail

CrossCountry service Bristol - Manchester train passing through the proposed station site (2014)
Location
Place Norton
Local authority Wychavon
Grid reference SO890508
Operations
Number of platforms 3
History
Spring 2018 Due to open
National Rail – UK railway stations
UK Railways portal

Worcestershire Parkway (Regional Interchange) is a proposed new railway station to be built at a rural junction where the Cotswold and Cross Country lines cross near Norton, Worcester, England.[1] A new station on this site was first suggested in the 1970s, but it was rejected because of cost, currently estimated at £22 million. [2]

Key Priorities

Funding

Worcestershire County Council set aside £3 million for park and ride facilities at the station in 2007,[4][5] while in June 2008 it was announced that the station was unlikely to be built for many years.[6] Following this, in October 2008 an e-petition was set up on the No 10 website calling for a Worcestershire Parkway.

The Third Worcestershire Local Transport Plan (LTP3) cites Worcestershire Parkway Regional Interchange as the top transport priority for Worcestershire.[7] It is also listed in the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy as a Sub Regional Priority, and features in Policy T6 - Strategic Park and Ride. Worcestershire County Council is currently coordinating the development of the business case. An outline business case was developed by Laing Rail in March 2006, which concluded in favour of the development of Worcestershire Parkway Regional Interchange.[8] The revised business case was submitted to the Department for Transport's Rail Office, who gave their formal support to the project in 2012.[9]

In February 2013, Worcestershire County Council submitted a bid to the Network Rail managed New Stations Fund for £7 million to fund the first phase of development of Worcestershire Parkway.[10] This application was turned down in July 2013.[11]

In July 2014 the station was given funding as part of a government infrastructure fund distributed to local enterprise partnerships.[12] The leader or Worcestershire County Council has said that he hopes the project will be completed by 2017.[13]

Progress

View of Worcester from Birmingham-Bristol Line. Worcester Royal Hospital (left), warndon villages (centre)

Worcestershire County Council presented an application for planning permission, which was submitted in the first half of 2015. They are in the process of trying to acquire the land. The £7.5 million for the project will arrive in mid-2016, when construction is expected to begin.[14]

New artist impressions were released on 9 February 2015 and the council have said the planning application has been submitted, with a decision due to have been made during the summer of 2015. If all goes to schedule work was due to have begun by the spring of 2016 and the station was on track to open in summer 2017, the county council said.[15]

On 21 February 2015 Worcestershire County Council advertised for contractors for the construction of the railway station to include platforms, station building, passenger footbridge and lifts with a commencement date of late September 2015 with completion in May 2017.[16] On 25 August 2015 planning permission was granted, with work expected to have started in 2016. [17]

A potential legal battle between Worcester County Council and Norton Parkway Developments, who currently own the land, started in 2016. Norton Parkway Developments has refused to hand over the land to the council as they feel that they are in a position to complete the development themselves. [18]

Following this, on 8 July 2016 a major milestone was reached with the project being signed off by the government. The compulsory purchase order had been finalised with objections from Norton Parkway Developments being withdrawn. [19]

Construction Phases

The site of the proposed station (2014)

Phase 1 involves building a platform on the Cotswold Line, a station building, interchange facilities, a 300 space car park, highway access and infrastructure for phase 2 construction. The station will then be served by Worcester - Oxford/London services, the aim is also to run trains to get to London in 2 hours or less.[20]

Phase 2 involves building two new platforms on the Birmingham - Bristol Main Line and on top of that an additional 200 car parking places. The station will then be served by all Nottingham - Cardiff services.[20] Phase 2 will provide a new footbridge of the Birmingham - Bristol main line to replace an existing footpath crossing.[20]

Phase 3 will involve getting additional Cross-Country trains to call at the station.[20]

Concerns

Concerns were raised that the construction of Worcester Parkway would reduce services at Worcester Foregate Street, however reduced services to Foregate Street and other stations has been rejected by Councillor Simon Geraghty "There has been no risk identified by Network Rail to existing railway stations."[21]

Services

Preceding station Future services Following station
Cheltenham Spa   CrossCountry
Cardiff – Nottingham		   Birmingham New Street
  CrossCountry
South West – North East and Scotland		  
Worcester Shrub Hill   Great Western Railway
Hereford – London Paddington		   Pershore

See also

References

  1. ↑ DFT Archived October 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "New rail station 'could just be a white elephant' (From Worcester News)". Worcesternews.co.uk. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  5. ↑ NWM Plans
  6. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Plans for two decades of change in city (From Worcester News)". Worcesternews.co.uk. 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
  7. ↑ http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/LTP3
  8. ↑ "Worcestershire Parkway Regional Interchange (From Worcestershire County Council)". worcestershire.gov.uk. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  9. ↑ "Worcestershire Parkway plans progress (From BBC News)". news.bbc.co.uk. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  10. ↑ "£7m bid for new Worcestershire Parkway railway station (from BBC News)". news.bbc.co.uk. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  11. ↑ "Plan for new Worcester train station refused". www.worcesternews.co.uk. 2013-07-08. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  12. ↑ "Worcestershire Growth Deal". Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "Worcestershire Parkway railway station wins funding". BBC News Online. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  14. ↑ Edwards, Tom (2014-07-11). "Sir Peter Luff hails Worcestershire Parkway breakthrough". Worcester News. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Edwards, Tom (2014-07-11). "Worcestershire Parkway rail station plans submitted". BBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  16. ↑ "Tender Advertisement"
  17. ↑ "BBC News"
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. 1 2 3 4 "Worcestershire Parkway Station Worcestershire Local Transport Body Funding Application" (PDF). Worcestershire County Council. May 2013. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  21. ↑ Edwards, Tom (14 November 2014). "£17m Worcestershire Parkway will not wreck services at Foregate Street, insists county council". Western Telegraph. Retrieved 29 August 2015.

Coordinates: 52°09′20″N 2°09′39″W / 52.155558°N 2.160873°W / 52.155558; -2.160873

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