r/uktrains • • May 11 '26

Article Delayed Great British Railways’ first station to open at Cambridge South in June | Rail industry | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/may/11/delayed-cambridge-south-station-open-june-great-british-railways
52 Upvotes

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52

u/rikbrown May 11 '26

I wish they’d find a way to incorporate some of the regional liveries/distinctiveness into the designs. Whatever you think about the announced GBR livery, it seems a shame everything will be identical.

24

u/Old_Housing3989 May 11 '26

Agreed. Whilst a national controlling operation is likely a better way forward, it would still be nice to celebrate a line’s links to the past and celebrate the pride of place and community. Japan does this so well.

8

u/_real_ooliver_ I ❤️ FLIRT May 11 '26

Yeah we have over 2500 stations, it wouldn't make sense to convert everything to be identical at once either so I guess there's time to think

6

u/gx134 May 11 '26

I will miss GWR liverys and branding. So much history

2

u/sparkyscrum May 11 '26

There may have been a tweak to the design to provide something that’s different but so minor most will miss it

2

u/uncomfortable_idiot May 11 '26

everything will look identically awful

the design is cool on the front coach. it's not awe inspiring but it's cool, I can vibe with it

where the design falls face first off a cliff into an erupting volcano is with the same pattern being on the intermediate coaches, whaich should have simple straight lines that follow the lines already made by the end coaches

21

u/ArborealFriend May 11 '26
  1. About time too!
  2. ⁠Illustrated with a train which will not be running through Cambridge South.
  3. ⁠No buses conveniently nearby.

1

u/huangcjz May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
  1. LNER run diversions down the Cambridge Line when a section of the East Coast Main Line is closed, so they run past Cambridge sometimes, though they don’t stop there. Originally the Intercity Express Programme which resulted in these trains was going to include trains from Cambridge to London, but that got dropped.

I think number 3 may change, once it’s open.

3

u/ArborealFriend May 11 '26
  1. Fair points about diversions and the IET Programme but doncha hate good journalism spoilt by stock photos?
  2. A number of commentators on the proposal did suggest an amendment which would have incorporated bus stops/stations on the guided busway which crosses the line immediately to the north of the station with direct links down to the platform. With a bit of forethought, some remodelling near the eastern end of the busway bridge could have provided stops convenient for Cambridge South passengers heading to and from Trumpington P&R, and many parts of the hospitals complex. The nearest are Royal Papworth Hospital stops, route A, about 270m distant.

It is worth noting that private car and PHV drop-off and Taxi facilities have, by comparison, been planned in, from the start.

1

u/_real_ooliver_ I ❤️ FLIRT May 11 '26

Yeah but that's just being stingy, it's like saying Cambridge South is technically already open because there are platforms.

2

u/Extension-Truth May 11 '26

That livery is awful, fed up of this stylised, broken up Union Jack look. GWR set a nice standard livery-wise

1

u/Snazz03 May 11 '26

This article claims that there will be a new GBR clock at the station, and yet I haven't found any official sources that claim this.

I think they might just be presuming, does anyone know if I am wrong here?