East Midlands Parkway railway station
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected future railway station. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the railway station approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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East Midlands Parkway is a planned railway station in the East Midlands of England, to serve East Midlands Airport. It will also provide park and ride facilities for commuters.
The station will be situated north of Ratcliffe on Soar on the already-existing Midland Main Line, in Nottinghamshire 500m from the border with Leicestershire and 2km from Derbyshire. On the Midland Main Line, it will be between Long Eaton or Beeston and Loughborough. Shuttle buses will provide a link to the airport. The main bulk of the station, including car parking, will be to the west of the line, opposite Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. Road access will be via the A453, which provides a link to the nearby M1 motorway.
The train operating company Midland Mainline were, until October 2006, responsible for the project, which has been in the planning stages for several years. This responsibility has now been transferred to Network Rail, although it is likely Midland Mainline will assist with the development. Network Rail anticipates expenditure of GBP 5 million in 2006/07 and GBP 8 million in 2007/08, with opening in 2008/09 [1].
[edit] Controversy
The construction of the station has not been uncontroversial, and land for the station had to be compulsorily purchased by the government for the project, against the objections of Powergen (the owners of the land), Friends of the Earth, Nottinghamshire County Council, and the Campaign to Protect Rural England [2] [3]. There are also concerns from the people of the nearby town of Loughborough that the opening of the station could lead to the reduction in the number of trains stopping there, although this has been denied by Midland Mainline. Another concern is the possible withdrawal of the existing bus service from Loughborough station to the airport[citation needed].
[edit] External links
- Architects' Design
- Transport Briefing - updates on new station developments Network Rail took over responsibility for the project in October 2006.
- Midland Mainline information (Somewhat out of date as of 2 October 2005. It still says waiting for government approval.)
- Department for Transport Decision Letter of 22 December 2004 giving approval
