Soham railway station

Soham
Location
Place Soham
Area East Cambridgeshire
Coordinates 52°20′03″N 0°19′40″E / 52.33415°N 0.32770°E / 52.33415; 0.32770Coordinates: 52°20′03″N 0°19′40″E / 52.33415°N 0.32770°E / 52.33415; 0.32770
Grid reference TL587732
Operations
Original company Ely and Newmarket Railway
Pre-grouping Great Eastern Railway
Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
Platforms 2
History
1 September 1879 (1879-09-01) Station opens
13 September 1965 (1965-09-13) Station closes
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z
UK Railways portal

Soham railway station was a station on the Ely to Newmarket line that served the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire.

History

The station was opened on 1 September 1879.[1] It was destroyed on 2 June 1944, when a munitions train caught fire and blew up, killing two and damaging over seven hundred buildings. The signal box, also damaged in the explosion which resulted in the death of signalman Frank Bridges, is now preserved on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.

Although the line remained open, the station was closed to passengers on 13 September 1965.[1][2] Since then a local campaign has run to reopen it.[3][4] In February 2011 East Cambridgeshire District Council obtained funding for a study into a possible reopening.[5]

In January 2013 Network Rail released a five-year upgrade plan, which included reopening Soham station as part of improvements to the Ipswich to Ely Line.[6]

Routes

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Fordham
Line open, station closed		   Great Eastern Railway
Ely and Newmarket Railway		   Ely
Line and station open

Although the station is closed, the line is served by an every 2 hours passenger train service operating between Ipswich and Peterborough. The nearest stations open on this route are Ely, to the north, and Kennett, to the south. In addition there is a heavy service of freight trains on the route, principally between Felixstowe Docks and the Midlands/North of the country.

References

  1. 1 2 Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 214. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  2. ↑ Village history Soham Museum
  3. ↑ Soham Train Station Campaign
  4. ↑ "New £47m rail link for Ipswich". EveningStar24. 19 November 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  5. ↑ East Cambridgeshire District Council (8 February 2011). "Is the dream of a Soham Railway Station about to come true?".
  6. ↑ "Region to benefit from huge railways investment" East Anglian Daily Times, 8 January 2013


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