New Station Opens at Soham 56 years after closure.

Newly completed £18.6m Soham station welcomed its first passengers on 56 years yesterday with the opening of the unstaffed station.

Soham station sits on the Peterborough to Ipswich line and is operated by Great Anglia. It offers routes including Peterborough, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.

Single platform

The station has a single 99m platform and a stepped footbridge across the railway to connect to an existing public right of way.
It has been designed so that if a 2nd platform is built, it would be possible for a lift to be installed at the station.

The 06:49 for Peterborough was the first train to stop at Soham since its station closed in 1965 with trains run by Greater Anglia.

The site has been under construction by Network Rail since the spring. It has a footbridge, parking for cars and cycles, and ticket machines.

Passenger train services will run through the station roughly every two hours.

The nearest station to Soham is about five miles away in Ely, which also has lines serving Cambridge. In addition it connects to Stansted Airport and London to the south, and Norwich to the north.

The old station closed and was demolished in 1965 following the Beeching Report. The report advocated a major re-organisation of the country's railway network.

Official opening

Announcing the official opening BTP Cambridgeshire and Peterborough tweeted: "A historic day for the community of #Soham #Cambridgeshire as the new Soham railway station officially opens.

"Having closed in 1965, today marks a new chapter in this communities history adding a rail link to Towns and Cities locally."

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson attended the opening and officially opened the train station to the general public.

Mayor Johnson said: “Congratulations to everyone involved in this great enterprise.

“Cooperation and partnership have created a benefit of lasting value for this community and its future generations, opening a door into opportunity.

“We need more green, clean public transport for the public good - and this new station is proof that, together, we can make it happen.”

Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson, said:

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this great enterprise.

“Cooperation and partnership have created a benefit of lasting value for this community and its future generations, opening a door into opportunity.

“We need more green, clean public transport for the public good - and this new station is proof that, together, we can make it happen.”