Following Planning Permission Complications the new Cambridge North Station now has a Completion Date at Last

Planning permission for the new Cambridge North Station, which is expected to handle 3,000 passengers a day in the north east of the city, was originally granted in 2013. However, when Cambridgeshire County Council, the original promoters of the new station, had to hand the project over to Network Rail, it was decided that a second planning application would have to made and the whole process repeated. Thie time taken to do this then led to the project being delayed further since it became entangled in various financial reviews. Altogether these administrative obstacles pushed the completion back by nearly three years

Now, to the great relief of Cambridge commuters and motorists, the estimated completion date has been set for May 2017.

The £50m station was originally promoted by a partnership between the DfT, Network Rail and Cambridgeshire County Council. It will not only reduce overcrowding at Cambridge station but, being sited next to the city's science and business parks, will also boost the local economy.

The station, designed by Atkins has been given a strikingly modern look. To highlight the symbiotic relationship between local business and science, the rainscreen will feature a perforated pattern derived from the 'Game of Life', a cellular automaton program devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway, during his time as a lecturer at the University of Cambridge.

Cambridge North will be one of the country's greenest stations. 10% of its energy will come from solar panels and, in addition to parking space for 450 cars, there will be storage facilities to take 1,000 bicycles and a well-designed taxi drop-off and pick-up area. .

The public can already see steelwork, liftshafts and cladding already in place and work is also well under way to build new track, points overhead wires and the power supply.

The station will be operated by Abellio with a target to minimise wastage and maximise recycling. It is located to provide a convenient connection with the Guided Busway, which will minimise any CO2 emission and encourage more people to use public transport.

The next milestone in the run-up to its planned launch date of 21 May is the signalling commission, expected this November. The station building will be completed in February next year, with Network Rail is hoping to have the infrastructure authorised for passenger use in April.