Worcestershire Parkway railway station

Worcestershire Parkway
**Add→{{rail-interchange}}**
Worcestershire Parkway Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Location	Wychavon
Platforms	3
Other information
Status	future
Key dates
Spring 2018	Due to open

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

to address the county's exclusion from the CrossCountry route (South West-Bristol-North West/North East), meaning connections only possible at Cheltenham or Birmingham.
support economic growth.
to improve London services with increased frequency and shorter journey times.
to improve current minimal car parking facilities, as current stations have little space for expansion.^[3]

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

Worcestershire County Council presented an application for planning permission, which was submitted in the first half of 2015. They are in the process^[when?] 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

File:Worcester Parkway Site.png

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