CONSTRUCTION is complete at the brand-new, landmark Worcestershire Parkway station – the first station to be opened in the county for over 100 years.
Rail chiefs and Worcestershire County Council have confirmed the standard rigorous rail industry ‘Entry into Service process is also nearing completion. This is the process where all the new equipment and the station itself are being tested.
Trains were due to begin calling at the station this month but county chief Coun Ken Pollock said the £22million venue would open ‘early next year’ with the opening date still to be confirmed.
“The station, in conjunction with the new timetable which launched this month, is set to revolutionise rail travel to and from mid Worcestershire. The positive impact it will have on our local economy and communities will be transformational, “ he said.
The station will benefit from the introduction of the new Cross Country and GWR timetable, the latter covering all GWR services across Western England and South Wales, representing the greatest change on the GWR network for over 30 years.
Some key peak services to and from London will take less than two hours, with a fastest time of one hour 49 minutes and passengers will be able to get to Cardiff in one hour 23 minutes, to Nottingham in one hour 49 minutes.
The 500-space car park will ensure passengers will have no difficulty parking. The station will also be served by the number X50 bus on its routes from Evesham to Worcester via Pershore and has taxi ranks and drop-off points.
The station also has the benefit of secure bicycle parking and a secondary pedestrian and cycle access via Woodbury Lane.
Business chiefs have welcomed the prospect of the new station and staff from county law firm Harrison Clark Rickerby were among those to take a peak behind the scenes at an event last week.
Charlotte Thornton Smith, head of the Worcester office, said: “Connectivity is all in business, and the new station, which is a really impressive building, will link us more easily to South Wales, the South West and London.”
