Beaulieu Park station contract awarded

Network Rail has awarded the first of two contracts to build the new railway station for Chelmsford’s Beaulieu development to J Murphy & Sons Ltd.

The £37.8 million contract includes work to begin construction and enabling work for the new station on behalf of partners Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council. This phase of the work includes set up of site welfare, earthworks, civils, modifications to track and signalling systems to facilitate the main construction phase of the new facility.

Al Pattison, Operations Director, J. Murphy and Sons Ltd, said: “We are excited to begin building this new station for the people of Beaulieu. The station has been developed by our teams for the last three years and is now ready for delivery. Murphy have previously demonstrated our expertise on the building of Soham Station, which we completed ahead of schedule. The team is looking forward to getting started on site and continuing our partnership with Network Rail.”

Main construction for the new station facility will be part of a second contract expected to be awarded in the coming months to complete the station and open it to train services for the benefit of passengers.

Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “Beaulieu Park is an excellent example of what the railway industry can do when working in partnership with local organisations to improve the railway for the benefit of communities and businesses. This is a great opportunity to show how we can work collaboratively with all our partners to begin to deliver the new station for the Beaulieu community.”

As part of a wider regeneration scheme, the new station has been designed to support the wider economic development of the area and its construction will include:

• Three platforms with a central loop line and new tracks to enable stopping services to call at the station while allowing fast trains to pass through unimpeded
• Step free access to all platforms via 2 lifts
• Accessible toilets, baby change facilities, waiting area and space for retail/catering
• Ticketing facilities, with ticket vending machines and a gate line
• Pedestrian and cycle access routes to the station
• 500 spaces for cycle parking and storage
• A bus interchange including bus stands for local services
• Pick up and drop off area with dedicated taxi bays
• Parking for over 700 cars, 5% of which to be designated Blue Badge bays, and motorcycle spaces, as well as dedicated parking for station staff, emergency services, and a dedicated space for service access

J Murphy & Sons Ltd have already been working on the project by finalising the design for Beaulieu Park station and have begun to establish the site compound to undertake the early enabling works.

The main construction phase will start later this year and the new station is currently expected to be completed and open by the end of 2025. Once open, the station will be managed by Greater Anglia and served by its fleet of new trains with services into London.

Councillor Lesley Wagland OBE, Essex County Council Cabinet member for Economic Renewal, Infrastructure and Planning, said: “The appointment of J Murphy and Sons to construct Beaulieu Park train station is another significant step towards starting the development of this exciting and important project, which will play a significant role in allowing Essex County Council to future proof transport services in the area and support wider economic growth.”

Councillor Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council, said: “The new station is an important part of the extensive and vital infrastructure being put in place to support the new Chelmsford Garden Community. It will reduce the need to drive into central Chelmsford and tackle congestion, by encouraging greener options like cycling, walking and public transport.”

For more information about the Beaulieu Park station visit: www.networkrail.co.uk/beaulieu

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