Worcestershire Parkway Regional Interchange

Worcestershire Parkway
Location
Place	Norton
Local authority	Wychavon
Grid reference	SO890508
Operations
Number of platforms	3
History
Key dates	Opened Due May 2017 (Due May 2017)
National Rail – UK railway stations
UK Railways portal

Worcestershire Parkway (Regional Interchange) is a proposed new railway station to be built near Norton, Worcester, England.^[1] The project is currently enjoying renewed interest, and the business case and technical development work is currently being undertaken by and for Worcestershire County Council. A new station on this site was first suggested in the 1970s, but it was rejected because of cost.

The station would be where the Cotswold and Cross Country Lines cross. It has been said that Worcester Shrub Hill would have to close when the new station opens, to justify the passenger numbers.^[2] The construction of the station would give Worcester long distance Cross Country trains that normally do not stop, bypassing Worcester. Based on the current timetable, it has been deemed feasible for a reasonable service to Birmingham Bristol and London to operate from this site.

On the Cotswold Line, there would be trains to Hereford and to Oxford, Reading and London.

On the Cross-Country line there would be northbound trains to Birmingham, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester and Nottingham. Fast trains to Birmingham would be every 30 minutes, and there would be a stopping service every hour. Southbound trains towards Cheltenham and Bristol would be every 30 minutes, proceeding to Taunton, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance. There would also be trains to Swindon, Cardiff, and Maesteg. There would be regular trains to Worcester Foregate Street for Worcester City Centre.

The development of Worcester Parkway station at Norton will boost the Worcester economy. The Norton area would become attractive to people wishing to travel to Birmingham and Cheltenham to work, and thus should be designated as a residential area. The station will also have up to 500 parking spaces. ^[3]

Funding

Worcestershire County Council have set aside £3 million for park and ride facilities at the station.^[4][5]

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 are currently working on an application for planning permission, which will be 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 the 9th February 2015 and the council have said the planning application has been submitted, with a decision anticipated to be made during the summer of 2015. If all goes to schedule work will begin by the spring of next year and the station was on track to open in summer 2017, the county council said. ^[15]

On 21st February 2015 Worcestershire County Council advertised for contractors for the construction of the railway station to include platforms, (3), station building, passenger footbridge and lifts with a commencement date of late September 2015 with completion in May 2017.^[16]

Construction Phases

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.^[17]

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.^[17] This will mean that during Phase 2 there will only be one train an hour to Birmingham New Street until additional services stop. Ideally when Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham (and possibly York) trains call at Worcester Parkway there will be three or four trains to Birmingham New Street every hour. It will also take less than 30 minutes to get to Birmingham New Street from Worcester Parkway. Only having southbound trains to Cardiff will mean there will be very few, if any, trains to Bristol from Worcester Parkway as many go via Gloucester (this will only happen during Phase 2). Phase 2 will provide a new footbridge of the Birmingham - Bristol main line to replace an existing footpath crossing.^[17]

Phase 3 will involve getting additional Cross-Country trains to call at the station^[17] (Edinburgh - Penzance, York - Plymouth & Manchester - Exeter services).

Journey Times

Birmingham New Street is approximately 25 minutes from Worcester Parkway making Birmingham very commutable. Parkway - London under 2 hours in the future. Bristol is about an hour away from the site. Making many destinations commutable. ^[18]

See also

• List of railway stations in Worcestershire
• Worcester Foregate Street railway station — the city centre station
• Worcester Shrub Hill railway station — the city interchange station
• The Cotswold Line
• The Cross Country Route

References

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