The long-awaited construction of a new railway station in Essex, UK, has taken a step forward with the awarding of the second of two construction contracts by Network Rail.
The £124m contract for work on the Beaulieu Park station in Chelmsford has been awarded to J Murphy & Sons, which will continue working on the project after an agreement between the UK’s rail network manager and Essex County Council, which worked with Chelmsford City Council on the project.
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Chelmsford City Council leader Cllr Stephen Robinson told Railway Technology: “This new station is well overdue and with Chelmsford’s main station being the busiest two platform through station, I think in the country, we’ve long had congestion problems with passengers on the platforms.
“With Chelmsford’s housing numbers growing significantly over the coming 10 to 20 years, a new station is a vital piece of infrastructure.”
The construction company, which previously received a £37.8m contract for enabling work on the project, will now be working on the construction of the new station facility and associated infrastructure and progressing towards opening up the station to train services.
Beaulieu Park station will provide three platforms with a central loop line and new tracks to enable fast trains to pass through. The platforms will all have step-free access via two lifts and the station will include 500 spaces for cycle parking and storage and more than 700 spaces for cars and motorcycles.
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By GlobalDataChris Cayton, managing director of transportation for J Murphy & Sons, said the company was “very proud” to continue working on the station: “Significant progress has been made by the Murphy team over the past few months, including modification to the rail systems, groundworks and piling for the station building.
“In the coming months, residents will see their new station take shape as the platforms are constructed and the steelwork is erected, ahead of major commissioning of the railway infrastructure at Christmas.”
The station is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and will be managed by Greater Anglia, which will serve passengers with a fleet of new trains on routes into London.
Funding for the station was secured by Chelmsford and Essex’s councils through the government’s Housing and Infrastructure Fund, which contributed £218m, along with £22m Countryside and L&Q and £12m in contributions from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
