Place Soham Grid reference TL587732 Platforms in use 2 | Area East Cambridgeshire Pre-grouping Great Eastern Railway | |
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Original company Ely and Newmarket Railway Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway Similar Cherryhinton railway station, Wisbech St Mary railway st, Wilburton railway station, Grafham railway station, Guyhirne railway station | ||
Soham railway station was a station on the Ely to Newmarket line that served the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire.
Contents
History
The station was opened on 1 September 1879. It was destroyed on 2 June 1944, when a munitions train caught fire and blew up, killing two and damaging over seven hundred buildings. The signal box, also damaged in the explosion which resulted in the death of signalman Frank Bridges, is now preserved on the Mid-Norfolk Railway.
Although the line remained open, the station was closed to passengers on 13 September 1965. Since then a local campaign has run to reopen it. In February 2011 East Cambridgeshire District Council obtained funding for a study into a possible reopening.
In January 2013 Network Rail released a five-year upgrade plan, which included reopening Soham station as part of improvements to the Ipswich to Ely Line.
Routes
Although the station is closed, the line is served by an every 2 hours passenger train service operating between Ipswich and Peterborough. The nearest stations open on this route are Ely, to the north, and Kennett, to the south. In addition there is a heavy service of freight trains on the route, principally between Felixstowe Docks and the Midlands/North of the country.