The contract has been signed to bring about the long-awaited Wixams Station in Bedford.
Bedford Borough Council signed the deal for the station which first won planning permission in 2013 but could not got initially go ahead because of the lack of funding from the railway sector.
The project was taken over by Bedford Borough Council in 2018 and is now being delivered by the council with support from local housing developers including L&Q Estates.
Elected Mayor of Bedford Borough Tom Wootton (pictured) said work is expected to get fully under way in Autumn 2024.
Mr Wootton went on: “People have been waiting for decades for this. People have bought houses, homes for their families, on the promise of a new station, and it’s only our determination which has made it happen.
“Wixams Station represents a significant investment in the borough’s sustainable transport provision by providing new access to the rail network with regular services for local residents and businesses.
“A rail station with frequent services will reduce the number of road-based trips and congestion leading to improvements in air quality. It will mean the end of long trips to Bedford or Ampthill, just to catch a train, and it will reduce traffic congestion for people in Bedford too as there will be fewer commuters trying to get to the station in town.”
The station has always been a key feature of plans for Wixams. Provision of a new railway station with regular services to London and Bedford and connections to stations to the north was an integral part of the original masterplan for the garden village development.
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