New £160m Beaulieu Park train station in Chelmsford begins construction

Construction of a new £160m railway station which will connect Essex to London in 40 minutes has started.

Beaulieu Park station in Chelmsford will be the first new railway station on the Great Eastern mainline for 100 years.

Work on the site near the Boreham Interchange, a roundabout system linking the A12 to north Chelmsford, began in January.

The station is expected to open by the end of 2025 and will provide travel to London Liverpool Street in 40 minutes.

It is hoped that pressures at Chelmsford train station and congestion on local roads will be eased by the new station and new roads in the area.

The Beaulieu Parkway relief road is opening in the summer, while the Chelmsford North-East by-pass will start development later this year.

On Friday, local MPs, councillors and partners visited the site to see what progress has been made.

Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford, said: "It is excellent news that construction of the new Beaulieu Park Railway Station is now underway.

"The people in the North and East of Chelmsford have waited many decades for the second station.

"This will mean fewer car journeys into the centre of Chelmsford and thus less traffic.

"The passing loop at the new station will enable fast trains to overtake stopping services and will improve the reliability of train services for commuters all across the Great Eastern Mainline."

The station has been long-awaited in the area, with plans first made over ten years ago.

It will include three platforms, car parking for over 700 cars, cycling facilities and new track for passing trains.

The Beaulieu area of the city is expanding in addition to the station, with almost 2,000 new homes built in the Square Neighbourhood Centre and a further 4,350 homes granted planning permission.

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