New station: Wixams, Bedfordshire. Planning approved

[AlterEgo]

As per BBC:

Wixams: Residents pleased with railway station approval https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-64723212

Residents on a housing development say they "finally have some good news" after plans for a railway station were approved.

Bedford Borough Council's planning committee voted in favour of the new station at Wixams almost 20 years after the estate was devised.

This is in my opinion long overdue. The station ought to have been built when the estate was! The site I believe will be on the Midland Main Line.

 

[pitdiver]

Sure will be on the Midland Main Line. I used to live just down the road in Flitwick. I'm wondering where Bedford Borough Council are getting the money from, £26milliuon I think

 

[duncanp]

I see that the estate is not too far from the existing station at Kempston Hardwick on the Marston Vale line.

However, even when trains are running, the service on that line is infrequent and unreliable.

The point was also made that in the article that there needs to be a decent connecting bus service to the station. Currently the estate is served by two bus routes, the 44 (Flitwick - Bedford) and the MK1 (Bedford - Milton Keynes), both of which run hourly, with no service after 7pm and no service at all on the 44 on Sundays.

 

[baz962]

Has this only just been approved. I live in a village very near to wixams and we had a newsletter saying this was coming nearly a year ago.

 

[duncanp]

I also note that planning permission for a station was granted in 2012, but lapsed when funding could not be secured.

So approving plans for the station this time will not mean anything unless there is a realistic prospect of obtaining the funds from somewhere.

 

[pitdiver]

I also note that planning permission for a station was granted in 2012, but lapsed when funding could not be secured.

So approving plans for the station this time will not mean anything unless there is a realistic prospect of obtaining the funds from somewhere.

Although I now live in Nottinghamshire I still listen to the local BBC Radio Station for the Bedfordshire area, £ Counties.
On the early Breakfast Show this morning the Mayor of Bedford was being interviewed. He seemed to think that the funding was in place and the first trains will be stopping at the new station in December 2024

 

[Supercoss]

Early design drawings see an island platform constructed serving slow lines only, with majority of work simply slewing up slow eastwards to accommodate

 

[pitdiver]

BBC News - Wixams: Residents pleased with railway station approval

Wixams: Residents pleased with railway station approval

Residents pleased after local authority agrees to put £26m towards the £39m cost of the station near Bedford.

www.bbc.co.uk

"We have been waiting such a long time for this," said Leon Staszak, from the Wixams Community Group.

"I moved here in 2009 with the promise of a new green town with great sustainable transport links and it hasn't happened... one of a number of disappointments."

A survey conducted by the community group found 74% of residents asked said they would use the proposed station

 

[Brissle Girl]

Sure will be on the Midland Main Line. I used to live just down the road in Flitwick. I'm wondering where Bedford Borough Council are getting the money from, £26milliuon I think

And £39m in total. Am I the only one to think that Dec 24 seems a tad optimistic, given the need for DoT sign off, and work to slew the slow lines, so a bit more complex than just sticking a platform on each side, and the main construction can't start until that's complete.

 

[fgwrich]

I see that the estate is not too far from the existing station at Kempston Hardwick on the Marston Vale line.

However, even when trains are running, the service on that line is infrequent and unreliable.

The point was also made that in the article that there needs to be a decent connecting bus service to the station. Currently the estate is served by two bus routes, the 44 (Flitwick - Bedford) and the MK1 (Bedford - Milton Keynes), both of which run hourly, with no service after 7pm and no service at all on the 44 on Sundays.

I wonder if this could actually be a benefit to East West - with the proposed rationing of stations along the line, Kempston Hardwick could then close as Wixams opens? Of course to travel towards Oxford would then require a change at Bedford, but I can imagine the greater traffic flow here will be towards London anyway.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

There are two planning applications.
One for the station and one for the station building. The planning website has not been updated yet.

 

[Basil Jet]

The site I believe will be on the Midland Main Line.

Although I presume only Thameslink will call there.

 

[pitdiver]

Further to my earlier post there was talk on the radio this morning that "Yes it will be great have a station but also nice to have a Doctor's surgery".

 

[Edvid]

Any activity on-site yet? Or timescales for establishing a site compound etc?

 

[DarloRich]

I see that the estate is not too far from the existing station at Kempston Hardwick on the Marston Vale line.

it is close to Kempston but for a long time there was no way of accessing that station from the development! There wasn't even a connection between the two halves of the development. I lived there for a period with a friend and we had to drive round to Kempston. It was a good couple of miles via the A5/A421/local roads.

I don't know what the situation is like now

The point was also made that in the article that there needs to be a decent connecting bus service to the station. Currently the estate is served by two bus routes, the 44 (Flitwick - Bedford) and the MK1 (Bedford - Milton Keynes), both of which run hourly, with no service after 7pm and no service at all on the 44 on Sundays.

Wixams like many out of town developments needs a good bus service. When i lived there the service to Bedford was acceptable but as you say finished very early. the MK1 does run a touch later these day but not by much. It is a LONG journey to MK also via Luton airport.

A colleague was forced to use this route from MK to Bedford after problems with the X5 and it took over 2 hours

Any activity on-site yet? Or timescales for establishing a site compound etc?

not that i have seen - i do wonder where the money is going to come from.

 

[Edvid]

I recently sent an email to the borough's Wixams Station team and they replied a couple of days ago:

Thank you for your email. An initial phase of site clearance, ecological and ground investigation work was undertaken in August 2022. The remainder will be subject to confirmation of the delivery programme.

Doesn't look like construction will get underway this summer, then.

 

[Edvid]

Well, it seems English station projects require DfT approval of the business case regardless of funding source. Thankfully they did about 2 months ago, on the proviso that Network Rail handle project delivery; NR are making their own assessment and should get back to the council with a defined cost and delivery timeline this autumn.

It's covered in last week's Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee webcast (2:30 in, 7 minutes long).

 

[adamedwards]

No sign of any works on the ground when I passed through today.

 

[Edvid]

BBC (the council, not the broadcaster!) recently responded to a FoI request, quoted as follows:

1) Is the funding for the project in the previous administration's budget?

Answer: Yes

2) Is the project fully funded?

Answer: Awaiting a revised project estimate from network rail as the principal mechanism for building the station.

3) Who is paying for the station and how much is it going to cost?

Answer: The station is to be funded via a combination of BBC funds and S106 money which is provided via developers to pay for elements such as transport infrastructure

4) Has the Department for Transport signed off the project?

Answer: The DfT supports the project which is a requisite of the station coming into operation

5) When will the work start?

Answer: Programme of works still being agreed with Network Rail

6) When will the work be completed?

Answer: As 5)

Furthermore there was a committee meeting this evening (see item 28) in which it was noted that formal discussions between NR and BBC are ongoing. Two points of particular interest also emerged:

* Two section 73 amendments will be made to the Feb '23 planning permissions to accommodate design changes, including a second footbridge (required by NR for satisfactory egress in the event of a fire).
* It would cost BBC up to £1 million a year to provide replacement buses whenever the slow lines are closed overnight. For this reason the station will close by 10pm every day (so late-night passengers will still have to use Bedford).

 

[Brissle Girl]

I wonder how much that second footbridge is going to add to the cost.

 

[The Quincunx]

I remember there being provision for this station in the FCC franchise agreement in 2006.

 

[Class 170101]

* It would cost BBC up to £1 million a year to provide replacement buses whenever the slow lines are closed overnight. For this reason the station will close by 10pm every day (so late-night passengers will still have to use Bedford).

and probably on Sunday daytimes

 

[james-tyler]

No sign of any works on the ground when I passed through today.

Still nothing

 

[pbin]

Is it possible that the station design would be changed now that Universal has bought land adjacent to the station? There isn’t a connection to the side where the resort will be (although this is subject to change, it’s quite likely it’ll get built though).

 

[Edvid]

Here's a summary from the committee meeting on 23 November 2023 (item 44):

• The Council had been notified that Approval in Principle for all of the Council’s Design Review Notices would be issued by Network Rail on 27 November 2023.
• Three key documents had been signed-off, these being the System Definition document, the Project Authorisation Strategy and the System Safety Plan.
• NR had responded to savings identified throughout the option work undertaken by BBC’s design consultants, to say that they were in support of the value engineering (VE) savings put forward by the Council and had not been able to identify any additional significant savings. However, they agreed that further savings were likely to be made upon entering the detailed design and delivery phase, and confirmed that NR was committed to working closely with the Council to ensure all saving opportunities were realised.
• NR had advised that their Cost Plan would be provided to the Council before the end of 2023.
• Work was continuing on preparation of the two new planning applications required to capture the provision of an additional footbridge which NR was insisting upon.

Said planning applications were acknowledged a few weeks ago:
23/02629/MDC3 (for a second footbridge and relocation of the first)
23/02136/M73 (for consequential adjustments to the station building)

The next ESCOSC meeting is due on 18 January.

 

[Edvid]

Is it possible that the station design would be changed now that Universal has bought land adjacent to the station? There isn’t a connection to the side where the resort will be (although this is subject to change, it’s quite likely it’ll get built though).

There was no mention of Universal whatsoever last Thursday, so probably not. A down-side entrance and fast line platforms would have to be delivered in a separate project.

Recent progress on the approved project is as follows (see webcast):
* Approval in Principle has been achieved and a formal sign off by senior NR managers was due on 19 January.
* Govia Thameslink Railway have concerns regarding platform length; one or both platforms seem to be 3 metres too short for their liking, AFAICT. NR say that can be reconciled later in the design process so the associated Network Change can be agreed week commencing 22 January.
* BBC decisions on the planning applications (to accommodate a second footbridge) are due by 13 March.
* The Cost Plan has been delayed as NR have noted an opportunity to combine Wixams possessions with those needed for the Radlett freight interchange.^ It is now due week commencing 29 January, after which a delivery timeframe can be determined.
* NR and BBC are looking to have a formal delivery programme in place by the end of June, which would satisfy the deadline for release of S106 funds (capped at £13.4 million).

In short, don't expect any works on the ground until July at least.

[^ With regard to Radlett, a request for judicial review on the sale of associated open space to SEGRO may be granted "early" this year, for what that is worth.]

 

[MML]

Plan of station from Bedford Borough Council website.
The following link confirms they plan to close the station after 10pm. Although they don't appear to be aware of weekend closures or unplanned events such as a line defect or train breakdown on the slow line which would prevent trains stopping at Wixams if train services were diverted via the fasts.

What I find bizarre is NR are insisting on provision of a second footbridge to provide a fire exit from the island platform?
Yet I'm not aware of a second footbridge being required for island platforms at Luton, Leagrave, Harlington or Flitwick.

Wixams Railway Station will close at 10pm as engineering works make staying open longer "too expensive"

“Having a train service at the station at all is an improvement on the current situation”

www.bedfordtoday.co.uk

 

[Bald Rick]

What I find bizarre is NR are insisting on provision of a second footbridge to provide a fire exit from the island platform?
Yet I'm not aware of a second footbridge being required for island platforms at Luton, Leagrave, Harlington or Flitwick.

Fire standards for new construction have changed in the intervening 154 years.

 

[Benjwri]

Yet I'm not aware of a second footbridge being required for island platforms at Luton, Leagrave, Harlington or Flitwick.

I believe the requirement is in place because the footbridge proposed only leads to one side of the railway, whereas at all the stations you mentioned their footbridges lead to both sides of the railway.

 

[Brissle Girl]

I doubt many people will be jumping off a plane at Luton to go directly to Universal in any case.

How close will the station be to the site? If it’s more than walking distance then there will have to be some type of bus link, possibly branded and funded by Universal. In which case they may choose to run them from Bedford.

The “no trains after 10pm” is not going to affect Universal traffic either.