New stations

See Guidance for promoters | Criteria | Campaign targets | Coming soon | Recent successes | Interchanges

New and reopened stations are essential to improve communities' and businesses' access to the rail network, serve new areas of development and respond to changing economic and environmental circumstances. Over the past half-century more than 400 stations have either reopened or been built completely new. They are listed in the sixth edition of Railfuture's A-Z guide to station and line reopenings since 1960, Britain's Growing Railway, published in 2017.

NEWS ALERT - JULY 2024
On Monday 29th July 2024 the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves made an oral statement in the House of Commons on Public Spending: Inheritance and in particular said this:
"The previous government also made a series of commitments on transport.
Promises that people expected to be delivered.
(Redacted political content)
We have seen from the National Audit Office the chaos that the previous government presided over.
Projects over budget and delayed again and again.
The spending audit has revealed nearly £800m of unfunded transport projects that have been committed next year.
So my RHF the Transport Secretary will undertake a thorough review of all these commitments.
As part of that work, she has agreed not to move forwards with projects that the previous government refused to publicly cancel, despite knowing full well they were unaffordable.
That includes proposed work on the A303 and the A27…
… and my RHF will also cancel projects in the “Restoring our Railways” programme which have not yet commenced.
If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it."
For completeness, the full passage from Hansard (column 1037) is this:
"The previous Government also made a series of commitments on transport, promises that people expected to be delivered and promises that many Members across this House campaigned on in good faith, but the Conservative party has failed them. We have seen from the National Audit Office the chaos that the previous Government presided over, with projects over budget and delayed again and again. The spending audit has revealed £1 billion of unfunded transport projects that have been committed to next year, so my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary will undertake a thorough review of these commitments. As part of that work, she has agreed not to move forwards with projects that the previous Government refused to publicly cancel, despite knowing full well that they were unaffordable. That includes proposed work on the A303 and the A27, and my right hon. Friend will also cancel the restoring your railway programme, saving £85 million next year, with individual projects to be assessed through her review. If we cannot afford it, we cannot do it."
As round 3 of the New Stations Fund was part of the Restoring Your Railway programme, there is a dark cloud hanging over the fate of at least some of the stations which it and subsequent government announcements supported with funding, until the results of the Transport Secretary's review are known.

Guidance for promoters

New stations are generally sponsored locally, rather than by central government. Potential sponsors include:

• Combined Transport Authorities / PTEs
• Local authority (generally county council or unitary authority, which has the strategic responsibility for transport)
• Train operator
• Network Rail

In the majority of cases, new stations are funded by a partnership, such as local authority, train operator and developer. Government support has been available for such an approach through three rounds of the New Stations Fund since it was launched in 2013. Although not known when there might be another bidding round, the Guidance note for applicants for the previous bidding round remain relevant for promoters.

New Station Guidance was published jointly by Network Rail and Highways England on 17 September 2020, concentrating on new parkway stations.

• Our Department for Transport-endorsed guide Expanding the Railways: How to develop and deliver a proposal, published jointly in February 2017, will help stakeholders and campaigners navigate the process of gaining agreement to a new station.
• Earlier guidance was published in June 2009 by the former Association of Train Operating Companies in "Connecting Communities - Expanding access to the rail network".

New stations can be expensive, and recent examples range from £2.2m for a single platform unstaffed station, to £12m for a full length two platform station with overbridge and lifts. This means that they generally require significant numbers of daily journeys if they are to be justified. Meanwhile Network Rail are showcasing Maghull North as an example of how to accelerate delivery.

• Make use of the cross-industry Better Value Rail toolkit - Delivering better outcomes faster.
• A DfT-approved SOBC - see DfT guidance - is the essential pre-requisite to enter the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (published March 2018). Schemes have then been shown at different stages of progress; see RNEP update (published October 2019).

Potential sources of funding include:

• Combined transport authorities
• Developer
• Landowner, through Land Value Capture
• Local authority
• Local Economic Partnership
• Train operator if a franchise commitment
• Transport Scotland (in Scotland)
• Welsh Government (in Wales)

Criteria

1. New station projects need a business case, a sponsor and funding.
2. A new station will normally only be considered if it fulfils a new opportunity (such as a housing development or business park) or helps to deal with a transport problem (such as acute traffic congestion).
3. Location:
   • Accessibility, space for car parking if required and the physical constraints of the site.
   • Proximity to bus routes.
   • How would pedestrians and cyclists access the station?
4. Operational:
   • What trains would serve the new station? Is there a local service that could stop there, for example, or does the line only carry fast trains?
   • Do the existing trains have capacity for the new passengers, or would more rolling stock be required?
   • Can the timetable be modified to include the additional stop? What effect would this have on turnround times and the rolling stock requirement?
   • Would the signalling be affected? For example, would the new station be close to a level crossing?
   • Is it on a gradient, or a curve?
5. Planning and consultation:
   • Is a station within the local strategic transport plan?
   • How will it affect the local community?
   • What stakeholder engagement has taken place?
6. Commercial:
   • What is the likely level of demand? Have surveys been undertaken?
   • Will the new station also abstract passengers from nearby stations?
   • What is the nature of the demand (commuting, educational, leisure?)
   • Could the demand be met more cheaply in other ways?
7. Value for Money (VfM):
   • Station projects are tested against the Department’s normal appraisal criteria – WebTAG which compares benefits and costs discounted over the life of the project, the benefit:cost ratio (BCR); affordability is another consideration.

Rail Transport for New Homes.
New Garden Communities need new stations to serve them. One example is Heathlands in Kent, west of Ashford; another is Welborne in Hampshire, near Fareham.
Some New Garden Villages are near existing stations and need good connections with them, for example by bus service and quality cycling routes. An example near an existing station is Otterpool Park in Kent, based on Westenhanger served by Southeastern HighSpeed services between Ashford and Folkestone.
"Don't wait for fresh policy to press for sustainable transport to new homes" said Railfuture's Board Director for Infrastructure & Networks in a letter to his professional institute's house magazine The Planner in May 2022.

This interactive map of proposed new stations in Britain shows where they will be located (the most advanced proposals are marked in green, those with more work to do to prove the case in yellow). Meanwhile remain 'upbeat' about prospects with Railway Station!

Campaign targets

Railfuture advocate the following candidates which meet these criteria and are lobbying local authorities and other organisations to bid for the funding which they need:

• Hoo St. Werburgh on Medway's Hoo Peninsula, home to the currently freight-only Grain Branch but an area in the spotlight for up to 15k new homes over the next 15 years or so.
• Wantage & Grove station in Vale of White Horse, south Oxfordshire (re-opening, or new-build near, former Wantage Road station) referenced in Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study (ORCS) for 2028. On 12 September 2023 Oxfordshire County Council agreed unanimously to this Motion and eventually, in March 2025, a Strategic Outline Business Case was commissioned.
• Welborne, a new station in Hampshire to serve the new 6,000-home Welborne Garden Village near Fareham, granted outline planning permission following the Council Planning Committee's decision on 16 October 2019. Permission subject to conclusion of a Section 106 Planning Agreement which includes allocation of a site for a rail station on the Fareham-Eastleigh line. Network Rail had earlier published a Pre-GRIP Feasibility Study, in November 2017. See our campaign leaflet, February 2019 update, March 2019 article, January 2020 news report, the January 2021 press releases from Fareham Borough Council and Buckland Development Ltd, the November 2021 press releases from Fareham BC and Welborne, and the May 2022 press release from Fareham BC confirming funding for a business case. On 28 November 2022 Fareham BC announced and SLC Rail confirmed that they had been appointed to produce a Strategic Outline Business Case for the new station to serve the new garden village. Not a direct Beeching reversal / re-opening from the closure in 1964 of Knowle Halt as the site will be different, but the new Welborne station might be regarded as a Beeching replacement in a fit-for-the-21st-Century location. See SLC Rail's Project overview and what they did.
• Bideford is now the official policy of Devon County Council, through the March 2025-endorsed Devon & Torbay Local Transport Plan 4 for 2025-40, and of the sub-national transport body Peninsula Transport through its March 2025-adopted Strategic Implementation Plan for 2025-50.

In Wales we are campaigning for:

• Magor - this new 'walkway' station in Monmouthshire would help to reduce road congestion in and around Newport and the eastern side of Cardiff. Railfuture actively support and are represented in MAGOR, the Magor Action Group On Rail.
• West Wales Parkway, at Felindre, north of Swansea is being advocated; see also Swansea Bay Metro. In 2022 open access company Grand Union proposed Carmarthen-Paddington services and included the new station.

In Scotland we have campaigned successfully for:

• East Linton, and Reston stations - a study into a new rail service between Edinburgh and Berwick-Upon-Tweed, including reopening these stations, was submitted to the Scottish Minister for Transport and the service included in the Abellio ScotRail franchise requirement, but delayed to 2018 by shortage of rolling stock. East Lothian Council and the Scottish Government subsequently agreed how to find the funding, but opening before 2021 proved unattainable. Following September 2020's application to Scottish Borders Council for planning permission for Reston station, February 2021 brought the good news that it had been granted, followed in March by news that construction work has started. Also in February, project development for East Linton station in East Lothian was the topic of a virtual public meeting. In August the local MP visited Reston. On 7 September 2021 came news that East Lothian Council's planning committee has approved the proposals for East Linton, followed over the 25/26 September weekend by installation of the accessible footbridge at Reston. Preparatory work for East Linton started in November 2021, and in February 2022 construction work began for an anticipated opening in 2023 - expected from Sunday 10 December. Services began calling at Reston's new station on 23 May 2022. On 13 December 2023 East Linton opens.

In January 2020 the Department for Transport launched a new £500m A bigger railway fund, comprising three elements: an Ideas Fund, an Accelerating Existing Proposals category, and a third round of the New Stations Fund. Four new station proposals are among the 10 successful bids to the first round of the Ideas Fund announced on 23 May 2020 by the Transport Secretary. They will receive funding support of 75% of costs up to £50k to help fund transport and economic studies and create a business case; future funding to develop projects is subject to agreement of the business case.

• Cullompton (part of Devon Metro)
• Devizes Parkway (at Lydeway, Wiltshire)
• Meir (south-west Stoke-on-Trent)
• Wellington (Somerset)

In November 2020 the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched his Spending Review 2020 along with the National Infrastructure Strategy, which in Chapter 2 Levelling up the whole of the UK under Connecting nations and regions re-affirms on page 41 "The government will also deliver on its manifesto commitment to spend £500 million to restore transport services previously lost in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s ....." It goes on to say "The government will provide further feasibility funding for an additional 15 proposals to inform decisions on further development, including reopening ....."

• Beeston Castle and Tarporley station in Cheshire
• St. Anne’s Park station in Bristol
• Ferryhill station in County Durham

and new stations at

• Waverley in South Yorkshire
• a station in the Langport/Somerton area of Somerset.

The government is also expanding the third round of the New Stations Fund to £32 million. This will fund the opening of railway stations at

• Edginswell in Devon
• Thanet Parkway in Kent
• St. Clears in Carmarthenshire

and also provide funding to further develop proposals for stations at

• Haxby, in York (on the York-Malton-Scarborough line).
• Deeside, in Flintshire (on the Borderlands line between Bidston and Wrexham) championed by the Welsh Government.

(Chapter 2, Levelling up the whole of the UK, Connecting nations and regions.)

In October 2021 the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched his Autumn Budget and Spending Review which at para. 4.69 says "In addition to the SR21 settlement, the government will continue to progress with the £500 million commitment to restore transport links previously lost in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. This includes: ... £5 million development funding over the SR period to reopen rail stations in Wellington, Somerset and Cullompton, Devon." and "£650,000 to pay for feasibility work on 13 successful ‘Ideas Fund’ proposals for new lines and stations ... to re-open Corsham station and Stonehouse Bristol Road station."

In June 2022 the Rail Minister issued a Restoring Your Railway update, and announced further development funding for nine rail schemes which entered the Restoring Your Railway programme as early-stage ideas, which have already been supported through the fund to develop a Strategic Outline Business Case and will be progressing further. The schemes are new stations at Meir in Staffordshire, Haxby in Yorkshire, Devizes in Wiltshire, Ferryhill in County Durham, Aldridge station and line upgrade in Walsall, also the Barrow Hill line between Sheffield and Chesterfield, the Ivanhoe Line between Leicester and Burton on Trent, reinstating the Fleetwood line, and the Mid-Cornwall Metro scheme for services between Newquay and Falmouth.

Coming soon

Two short films which between them give a foretaste of most (still not yet all!) of the new stations expected to open to passengers over the next few years: "The next new 21 stations" (February 2023) and "New stations in 2025 and beyond" (May 2023) - with full marks to Geoff All the stations Marshall! As for (still not yet all!) - any mention of Cryws Road, Cullompton, St. Clears, Wellington, Wixams?

On 28 July 2017 the Department for Transport announced the winners of the second round of the New Stations Fund, with a pot of £16m. This provides up to 75% of the cost for construction of five new stations (Bow Street Ceredigion, Horden County Durham, Portway Parkway Bristol, Reading Green Park, and Warrington West) to improve access to the rail network and create new travel, employment and housing opportunities. Two of these (Horden and Warrington West) were included in the shortlist proposed by Railfuture, and Warrington West has been the first of the five to open, on 15 December 2019. Horden, to restore rail access for Peterlee New Town, opened on 29 June 2020. Bow Street is the first new station of 2021, on Valentine's Day! Reading Green Park followed in May 2023, opening officially on the 25th and to passengers on the 27th, with Bristol's Portway Park & Ride completing the five soon afterwards with an official opening on 31st July and its first passengers on 1st August.

In February 2020 the third round of the New Stations Fund was launched, with bids for NSF3 to be submitted by June 2020. In November 2020, alongside the Spending Review 2020, the National Infrastructure Strategy was published which included on page 41 the winners of NSF3 - to open St. Clears in Carmarthenshire (and develop the Deeside project in Flintshire) in Wales, and open Edginswell in Devon and Thanet Parkway in Kent (and develop the Haxby project in York) in England - Thanet Parkway being the first to open, on 31st July 2023:

• St. Clears, Carmarthenshire - closed since 1964 and one of four new stations championed by the Welsh Government, in November 2020 the launch of the National Infrastructure Strategy (p.41) confirmed support from the third round of the New Stations Fund. The fund requires completion by March 2024 and passenger services starting no later than the May timetable change.
• Edginswell, possibly to be re-named Torquay Gateway, part of Devon Metro - on the Riviera line between Newton Abbott and Torre and part of The Torquay Project, with funding from new housing development near Kingskerswell with its new £110m by-pass. A potential start in summer 2018 might have seen a spring 2019 opening, but design changes and associated cost increases interrupted progress. The project had a boost when on 4 August 2020 it was included in the £35.4m allocated to the Heart of the South West LEP in MHCLG's new £900m Getting Building Fund. Then in November 2020 the launch of the National Infrastructure Strategy (p.41) confirmed support from the third round of the New Stations Fund which requires construction completion by April 2024. In July 2023 however a £10 million funding shortfall was identified, putting the project under a new cloud. Nevertheless, in August Network Rail submitted a planning application for the new station - see ref. no. P/2023/0708. Torbay Council's Planning Committee resolved to approve the planning application on 13 November 2023.

In May 2021 a further £15 million from the third New Stations Fund was allocated to support three more stations, one in Exeter and two in Leeds which were among four in the West Yorkshire area mentioned in the DfT's November 2017 Connecting people: a strategic vision for rail (page 25, para. 2.43) - Exeter's Marsh Barton being the first to open, officially on 3rd July 2023 and to passengers the following day:

• White Rose station, Leeds, part of the New Stations Fund round 3 announced in May 2021 and anticipated to open December 2023.
• Thorpe Park station, Leeds, part of the New Stations Fund round 3 announced in May 2021 and required to open by March / no later than May 2024.

Other new stations which are funded and in progress are:

• Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delavel, and Northumberland Park will all be new mainline stations when the Northumberland Line opens, now expected in Summer 2024; Seaton Delaval and Bebside were planned phase 2 stations but are now integral to the opening. In July 2023 contracts were confirmed to build three of the new stations. Other aspirations are for new stations at Seghill (between Northumberland Park and Seaton Delavel), Woodhorn and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on a coastbound continuation beyond Ashington, and Choppington between Bedlington and the East Coast Main Line at Morpeth.
• Darlaston and Willenhall on the Walsall-Wolverhampton line, and Moseley, Kings Heath and Stirchley / Hazelwell (the first to be known as Moseley Village, the third as Pineapple Road) on the Camp Hill line, all part of the West Midlands Rail Programme, were originally planned by Transport for the West Midlands, which is part of the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) for reopening by the end of 2021, in time for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Progress with Kings Heath and Hazelwell was reported in September 2019, and for Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell during a test run (the first passenger train on the Camp Hill line in 80 years!) in March 2020, with rail services first planned to start in 2022 at Darlaston and Willenhall were announced in June 2020. In April the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) appointed a new interim rail programme director to work on the development of railway stations. In May plans for Moseley station were submitted to Birmingham City Council. In October 2020 Walsall Council's planning committee approved applications by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) for the new facilities in Willenhall and Darlaston and work started in November 2021, whilst in March 2021 the WMCA approved funding for stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell. In June 2022 new names were confirmed after public consultation for two of the stations, Moseley Village and Pineapple Road. All five new stations are expected to be in passenger service by the end of 2024; Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road had been anticipated in December 2023. In October 2023, West Midlands Combined Authority reassured that development of two new railway stations on the Walsall to Wolverhampton line can continue following a deal with a new contractor. Latest news in February 2024: Mayor says "open at the end of the year".
• Winslow, in Buckinghamshire between Bicester Village and Bletchley on East West Rail, due to open with Oxford-Bletchley services in 2025.
• Cardiff Parkway is being privately funded and will be located between Cardiff Central and Newport stations to serve a new business park at St. Mellons, Cardiff Hendre Lakes. Outline planning permission was expected to be applied for in Spring 2020, with construction starting later that year. Impressive images of new £120million station released with initial public consultation in November-December 2019. Full plans submitted to Cardiff Council in January 2021. The station was at one stage anticipated to open in 2024, but only in January 2025 did the Wales First Minister issue approval - but still subject to a "statutory challenge period."
• Butetown on the Cardiff bay line was also anticipated to open in 2024.
• Portishead and Pill - as part of MetroWest, new stations to be built on the planned Portishead-Bristol line, for which North Somerset Council agreed in June 2019 to submit an application for the Development Consent Order required. Government funding had been confirmed in April 2019. Metro West (Portishead element only) appeared in the Department for Transport's new Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) published in October 2019, at the third 'Design' stage of five in the Determine > Develop > Design > Deliver > Deploy process. See page 14 in RNEP. In November 2019 North Somerset Council submitted the DCO application. See Portishead Rail Group presentation Key steps to 2024. In mid-November 2022 the Secretary of State granted development consent. This will allow the detailed design work to be completed (GRIP 5), for which a primary contractor was appointed in February 2023. In January 2024 North Somerset Council voted unanimously to give Council leader Mike Bell the authority to submit the full business case for the long-awaited scheme to the Department for Transport, expected to happen in February. Then a year later, this: "Full steam ahead for Bristol & Portishead Line"
• Cambridge South - linked with Cambridge City Deal and developer funding. Would serve the Addenbrooke's hospital site and the developing base for other high-tech companies, including AstraZeneca. Just after a Network Rail consultation had closed, funding was committed in the March 2020 budget. In June 2020 Network Rail confirmed their preferred location for the station: option 1. A second-round consultation took place in October-November 2020 and Network Rail submitted a TWAO application in June 2021. In early-2022 the Public Inquiry started. In late-December 2022 approval of the Network Rail (Cambridge South Infrastructure Enhancements) Order authorised the construction and operation of a new Cambridge South Station and related track works; junction improvements at Shepreth Branch Junction and a new connection between existing lines at Hills Road were also authorised. The main construction contract was awarded in October 2023. Opening is anticipated in early-2026.
• Elland, Thorpe Park, White Rose, and Leeds Bradford International Airport Parkway: these four new stations in the West Yorkshire area were announced in the DfT's Connecting people: a strategic vision for rail - page 25, para. 2.43. (November 2017).
  • Public engagement on Elland station began in June 2018, and a final engagement report was published that August. In February 2023 a station opening date of December 2025 was being indicated by Calderdale Council, but in January 2024 that had been pushed on to December 2026. A step forward came in September 2024 after a contractor was appointed for the final stage of development work.
  • Public engagement on Thorpe Park station took place July-August 2018 and a final engagement report was published. Government funding support announced in May 2021, requiring completion by March 2024 and opening no later than May 2024.
  • Public engagement on White Rose station took place October-November 2019, and on 7 November 2019 West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Investment Committee considered the Outline Business Case. In January 2020 it was reported that Network Rail had submitted a planning application to Leeds City Council. In June 2020 it was reported that planning permission had been granted. Government funding support was announced in May 2021, with construction starting in 2022 and expected to continue into 2023 as the expected time of completion. See also "What's happening?" (June 2024).
  • Public engagement on 'Connecting Leeds Bradford airport: Parkway rail station' took place February-April 2019.
• North Filton / Brabazon in South Gloucestershire is also part of MetroWest phase 2. The Council granted planning permission in January 2023, West of England Combined Authority contributed funding in February 2025 for preparatory work, and work began on site in March 2025. The new station is anticipated to open in 2026.
• Charfield in South Gloucestershire on the Yate and Gloucester line is a project being developed within the West Of England Combined Authority's 10-Year Rail Delivery Plan as part of MetroWest phase 2. In September 2022 a planning application was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council, with a station opening target, at that time, of December 2024. The application, ref. no. P22/05778/R3F, was considered by the Council's Strategic Sites Delivery Committee on 2nd March and planning permission was issued on 6th March 2023. A November 2023 project update indicated a revised project timetable leading to station opening in Spring 2027.
• Beaulieu Park, Essex - north-east side of Chelmsford, supporting 14k new homes. Construction start expected in early-2023 after first contract awarded in January. Anticipated opening late-2025.
• Haxby, in north-east York on the York-Malton-Scarborough line, closed in 1930 and consulted by City of York Council in May 2020. Received an official visit in February 2024, followed soon afterwards by submission of a planning application.
• Cottom Parkway, Preston, on the line towards Blackpool, received planning permission in September 2023. It's supported by the Transforming Cities Fund.
• Flaxby Parkway is on track with the purchase of the former Goldsborough station building. The North Yorkshire station, on the Harrogate-Knaresborough-York line, will serve around 3000 new homes in the Flaxby Park development on the former golf course.
• Golborne (between Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay) secured Transforming Cities Fund support in early-2021. Its predecessor Golborne South closed to passengers in February 1961. From 4 January 2024 Transport for Greater Manchester consulted until 15 February. Confirmation in November 2024 of submission of a planning application. Confirmation on 1st May 2025 of planning permission granted.
• New Bermondsey / Surrey Canal Road in Lewisham on the London Overground line between Clapham Junction and Surrey Quays, which opened in December 2012 and included provision for a new station at Deptford Park. In November 2021 detailed plans were submitted and approved (using the station name Surrey Canal) the following month.
• Oxford Littlemore (formerly Science Park, Littlemore, then Oxford South) and Oxford Cowley (formerly Business Park, Cowley, then Oxford East) are two new stations on the freight-only Cowley branch line from Kennington Junction which may be reopened for passenger train services by 2028. Funding for detailed design and feasibility works was agreed on 14 December 2022 by Oxford City Council (see item 99).
• Okehampton Interchange (previously Okehampton East or Parkway, most recently West Devon Transport Hub) is seen as part of Devon Metro. East of the town on the A30 two preferred options were identified back in April 2018. Regular passenger services on The Dartmoor Line as far as Okehampton started on 20 November 2021 with alternate-hourly services, doubled to hourly from 15 May 2022. In May 2022 Devon County Council announced that Okehampton East / Parkway is part of a £92million bid to the Levelling-Up Fund second round. On 18 January 2023 the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing & Communities announced "£13.5 million for a new railway station on the eastern edge of Okehampton - the West Devon Transport Hub - complete with high quality cycle facilities and EV charging points on site to better connect communities and promote active travel." See West Devon Transport Hub, opening in Spring 2026. On 13 May 2024 the station's new name was confirmed.
• Wixams, Bedfordshire - on the Midland Main Line between Bedford and Flitwick and due east of the Marston Vale Line's Kempston Hardwick station nearby, this new Thameslink station has had a prolonged gestation but showed signs of revival in June 2022. It was granted planning permission on 20th February 2023 by Bedford Borough Council. In August 2024 preparatory works began, with station opening anticipated with the December 2026 timetable change.
• Crwys Road, on the Cardiff Queen Street - Rhymney line and an integral part of South Wales Metro, received planning permission on 12 April 2023.
• Liverpool Baltic, so named to avoid confusion with James Street station, will be located between Liverpool Central and Brunswick Station on the Northern Line and built on the site of the former St. James station closed in 1917. "£96 million plan for Liverpool Baltic Station On Track for Approval." On 22 April 2025 "Next stop Liverpool Baltic as £100m new station gets the green light!" as planning permission granted. Opening anticipated December 2027.
• Cheadle has secured Town Deal funding in July 2022 to reopen the station on the Mid-Cheshire line by 2025. In June 2024 it was reported that construction would begin 'soon' and in November 2024 that plans for the new station were 'still on despite funding fears.'
• Beeston Castle and Tarporley, first announced as one of the 15 schemes in November 2020's Spending Review and National Infrastructure Strategy, received DfT approval of its Outline Business Case in October 2023, confirmed in a press statement from the Beeston and Tarporley Station Reopening Group and reported by BBC North West.
• Balgray in East Renfrewshire, between Glasgow and Neilston. Network Rail appointed design contractors, November 2023. New station previously known as Auchenback. The Glasgow City Region City Deal completes the funding package in September 2024.
• Aldridge north-east of Walsall on a freight-only line, with development funding confirmed in June 2022, due to open with an initial half-hourly shuttle service to and from Walsall in Spring 2027.
• Chard Parkway, on the site of the former Chard Junction station between Axminster and Crewkerne and closed since March 1966, is being championed by Somerset County Councillor for Chard South, Connor Payne, also his party's environment spokesman. The current Local Transport Plan Somerset's Future Transport Plan runs to 2026.

Whilst London's Tottenham Court Road, Canary Wharf, and Custom House already had stations on the London Underground or Docklands Light Railway, they have joined - and in the case of Custom House re-joined after closure in December 2006 - the national rail network with the opening of Crossrail as the Elizabeth line on 24 May 2022. Bond Street joined them on 24 October 2022, and Whitechapel was already a national rail station since becoming part of the London Overground network in 2010.

Potential new stations are on proposed reopened or new lines, for example:

• Tavistock (pop.13k) as the principal town in West Devon and part of Devon Metro was understood to be under active consideration by the DfT as part of its Restoring Your Railway 'Accelerating Existing Proposals'. It later became a bid to the third, final round of the Ideas Fund in March 2021. It has been an isolated town since its North station and train services closed in May 1968, and would be re-connected to the rail network at Bere Alston for restored links with Plymouth. Renewed signs of optimism before and during a meeting on 6 April 2022. On 14 November Devon CC announced publication of the latest Strategic Outline Business Case. On 4 October 2023 local MP The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Cox KC received a reassuring letter from Rail Minister Huw Merriman.
• Greater Bideford (pop.31k) in Torridge is Devon's and the South West's largest town without its own direct access to rail. It would be served by mainline trains on an upgraded and extended Tarka Line, from Barnstaple station via the Fremington area to new stations at Bideford Gateway (by the A39 Torridge Bridge) and Bideford Town, not replacing the Tarka Trail and avoiding sensitive locations such as Fremington Quay and the tunnel and level crossing at Instow. See speech by North Devon MP Selaine Saxby in Westminster Hall Restoring Your Railway Fund debate on 24 January 2023.

Some other proposed stations include:

• Castle Bromwich, Coventry East, Tettenhall in the West Midlands.
• Wedgwood or Barlaston station reopening - the DfT asked bidders to quote, as a priced option, for reopening either in the West Midlands franchise ITT. Technically these Staffordshire stations, south of Stoke-on-Trent, have never been closed, but services at them have been provided by bus since 2003.
• Doncaster Sheffield Airport Sheffield City Region, Doncaster Council and the Peel Group (owners of Doncaster Sheffield Airport) submitted an outline business case to the Government for a station at the airport on a new loop from the East Coast Main Line. In October 2020 it was turned down by the DfT as it “does not believe that the proposed scheme will deliver value for money in its current guise”. In April 2025 the South Yorkshire Mayor announced a £30m devolved funding investment into reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

Recent successes

2025

• Newsham (pronounced 'news-um'!), the first station in the 200th anniversary year of the railways as we know them today and appropriately in the North East, opened on Monday 17 March.

2024

• Ashington and Seaton Delaval the first two of the Northumberland line's six new stations to open, with the restoration of passenger services to the line after six decades on Sunday 15 December.
• Ashley Down in Bristol and a part of MetroWest phase 2, officially on Friday 27 September, for the public on Saturday 28 September. Completion by the end of 2024 had been anticipated after construction start in early-2023. On 12 September the West of England Mayor had confirmed the opening day.
• Leven and Cameron Bridge on the Levenmouth Rail Link opened to passengers on Sunday 2 June.

2023

• East Linton opened on Wednesday 13 December.
• Brent Cross West, promoted by Barnet Council, was opened by the Mayor of London with the timetable change on Sunday 10 December.
• Headbolt Lane, Knowsley, on Merseyside, opened on 5th October. This is one step towards opening a new line to Skelmersdale New Town.
• Portway Park & Ride opened to passengers on Tuesday 1st August, having been opened officially by the Transport Secretary on Monday 31st July.
• Thanet Parkway opened to passengers on Monday 31st July. Rail Minister Huw Merriman performed the official opening on Friday 8th September.
• Marsh Barton, part of Devon Metro - scheme south of Exeter St. Thomas, opened to passengers on Tuesday 4 July, having been opened officially on Monday 3 July.
• Reading Green Park opened officially on Thursday 25 May 2023 and to passengers two days later - sponsored by Reading Borough Council, plans submitted in March 2014 and funding approved in November 2014 with construction planned to start in October 2016 but delayed to winter 2017 by GW electrification slippage. Funding has been increased to £14.75m, partly by the second round of the New Stations Fund, to support higher expected passenger numbers. Opening was planned for May 2019; it was confirmed as December 2020 when Reading Borough Council approved revised plans on 12 September 2019, but was delayed again to late summer 2021 by COVID. Construction progress pictured in mid-May 2020. Had been due to open December 2022, since deferred to early-2023. Finally, on 15 May 2023, Great Western Railway confirmed that the station would open to passengers on Saturday 27 May 2023.
• Inverness Airport, 6 miles east/north-east of Inverness, was opened officially on Thursday 2 February and to passengers the following day. Closed in 1965, for many years there was a campaign for a rail connection to Inverness Airport. Following a feasibility study a proposal for a new Dalcross station serving the airport was announced - in June 2006! "If built as planned the station could be open by 2008." Network Rail hoped to lodge plans by the end of 2020, with the prospect of the station opening two years later. New developments in the area, such as the new town of Tornagrain with 5k homes under development just a mile to the south-west, will also benefit - and probably helped make the case for the new station in a way which a purely airport station could not. In December 2020 Network Rail submitted a planning application to Highland Council for a new railway station. In May 2021 Highland Council's planning committee approved the proposals. In October 2021 platform construction had started, and in December 2021 there was further progress clearly visible. In April 2022 a December completion date was clear, and a line block in October heralded project completion.

2022:

• Barking Riverside opened on 18 July. It is the new terminus on an extension of Gospel Oak-Barking London Overground services to a new development of 10,800 new homes. Design provision has been included for an intermediate station at Renwick Road to serve the planned Castle Green development.
• London's Elizabeth Line opened its tenth new station, at Bond Street, on Monday 24 October.
• London's Elizabeth Line opened with nine new stations at Abbey Wood, Woolwich, Custom House, Canary Wharf, Whitechapel, Liverpool Street, Farringdon, Tottenham Cort Road, and Paddington, on Tuesday 24 May.
• Reston, Berwickshire on the East Coast Main Line opened to passengers on Monday 23 May 2022.

2021:

• Soham, Cambridgeshire - with local authority sponsorship, supported by Greater Anglia and Network Rail, in conjunction with planned Soham to Ely track doubling and hourly Ipswich to Peterborough service, opened officially by new Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Mayor and to passengers on 13 December. This new station will give access to the rail network for a population of over 10,000 not rail connected since 1965. In November 2019 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority contracted Network Rail to build the new station. Work on site scheduled to start in 2020, subject to planning permission sought by application submitted in Spring. On 26 June then Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough James Palmer tweeted that The planning application for Soham Railway Station has been approved today by East Cambridgeshire District Council! Work will begin later this year. On 17 August 2020 Network Rail confirmed contract award for construction of the station, expected to open in late-2021. After bank holiday weekend in August 2021 Network Rail reported completion of a key milestone ahead of trains calling at station from December 2021.
• Okehampton was re-opened officially on Wednesday 17 November, followed by the resumption of regular public passenger services from Saturday 20 November on the newly-branded Dartmoor Line.
• Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station London Underground stations - opened on the planned start date of Monday 20 September. Construction of the Tube's Northern Line Extension, from Kennington on the Southwark/Lambeth boundary via Nine Elms to Battersea Power Station in Wandsworth, started in 2015.
• Bow Street, Ceredigion opened on Sunday 14 February, to act as a park and ride site for Aberystwyth station and help relieve road traffic congestion in Aberystwyth. Part-funded from the second round of the New Stations Fund. Planned completion was March 2020; in January 2020 it was reported that construction has started and expected completion was then reported as late-2020.

2020:

• Kintore, Aberdeenshire - pandemic-postponed, opened to passengers on 15 October 2020. Hoped-for start of works in autumn 2018 delayed by six months. In May 2019 Network Rail placed a contract to build the new station, planned to reopen in May 2020, 56 years after closure in December 1964. Between Dyce (for Aberdeen Airport) and Inverurie, supported by Aberdeenshire Council and NESTRANS (North East of Scotland Transport Partnership) with full business case to Scottish Stations Fund. In October 2019, Kintore reopening is given a lift! Two months ahead of planned May 2020 opening, new station gets an electric vehicle boost. Then COVID-19 caused suspension of works.
• Horden - new station on Durham coast line for the 1948-designated Peterlee New Town near the former Horden station closed in 1964, opened 29 June 2020. Sponsored by LEP to support regeneration, part-funded by second round of New Stations Fund. Residents invited to engagement event March 2018. Network Rail submitted plans in autumn 2018, later approved in January 2019. See also Horden Masterplan Map. Works began in May 2019. With contractor appointed, opening expected May 2020. A significant milestone reached, then COVID-19 made opening date uncertain.
• Worcestershire Parkway - DfT approved, local authority sponsored, this station gives access from the city to cross-country services for the first time, as well as interchange between CrossCountry services and Great Western Railway's Cotswold Line services. Contract for design and construction placed in February 2017, construction started autumn 2017, construction nearing completion in mid-October 2019, and opening scheduled for mid-December 2019 timetable but delayed to early-2020 by 'Entry into Service' process. Take a virtual tour courtesy of project managers SLC Rail. Station opening date revealed and confirmed for Sunday 23 February 2020.

2019:

• Robroyston - new park and ride station supporting 1600 new homes in north-east Glasgow. Scottish Government met 50% of station's construction costs through Scottish Stations Fund, whilst city council approved the plans. In October 2019 ScotRail confirmed expectations indicating opening with mid-December's timetable change. Here's a 9-second drivers'-eye view on the Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk Grahamston route, before opening on Sunday 15 December 2019.
• Warrington West - LEP and developer support, Warrington BC sponsoring, part-funded from second round of New Stations Fund; watch to see where it is. Benefits include supporting the Chapelford Urban Village housing development and reducing congestion on the M62. Opening coincided with the timetable change on Sunday 15 December 2019.
• Meridian Water - opened Monday 3 June 2019 by then-Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, replacing London's least-used station Angel Road, on the Lea Valley line. See Lea Valley Rail - better access to jobs and homes for the Railfuture-inspired story. Added to film series All the stations. Greater Anglia's timetable for Bishop's Stortford to Stratford from 19 May 2019 confirmed that all-day/every-day half-hourly services would be added in September to June's opening 'preview' weekdays peak periods-only services transferred from Angel Road. The full service operated from Monday 9 September 2019.

2018:

• Parkgate (Rotherham) - new tram stop (not a National Rail station) to serve new developments, regeneration and retail centre to the north east of the town centre, provided as part of the Sheffield tram-train trial opened on 25 October 2018 after many delays.
• Maghull North : sponsored by Merseytravel with funding from developer and DfT. Construction started September 2017. Services planned to start May 2018, later confirmed to start on Monday 18 June, and reconfirmed with just days to go!.
• Kenilworth: finally, on Monday 30 April, the first train rolls in after 53 years. It was first announced by Secretary of State in June 2013 and final approval confirmed December 2013, with support from the first round of the New Stations Fund. Opening was originally expected December 2016. The site was secured ready for construction work to begin. Opening was then anticipated in August 2017 but delayed until 10 December 2017 then delayed again at the last minute with various dates being proposed (the latest rumoured to be April 2018) amidst an undignified blame game between the county council and the DfT.

2017:

• Cambridge North opened with the new timetable on Sunday 21 May. See local press coverage on opening day, on Monday, and Railfuture's feedback. This station, also known as Cambridge Science Park, will serve a major industrial/business park as well as the St Ives Busway corridor, an area of major population growth. This is an example of making access to the railway easier in an area of changing demographics and economic activity - a complete reversal of the philosophy of most of the last 50 years. It was opened officially by the Transport Secretary on Monday 7 August.
• Ilkeston station finally reopened on Sunday 2 April 2017 after many false dawns. Supported by the first round of the New Stations Fund.
• Low Moor station south of Bradford Interchange opened on 2 April 2017 to serve surrounding residential and industrial areas. It offers through Grand Central trains to London.

2016:

• Edinburgh Gateway station was opened officially on Friday 9 December, with the first trains following on Sunday 11 December 2016. Part of the Edinburgh - Glasgow Improvement Programme to electrify lines, it allows rail passengers travelling from the north to reach Edinburgh airport more easily.
• Kirkstall Forge, on the line between Leeds and Bradford, opened on Sunday 19 June 2016 to serve a £400m mixed use development of the Old Forge site.
• Lea Bridge - Railfuture had commissioned a study to make the case for improved services in the Lea Valley including this station. Funded from the first round of the New Stations Fund announced by the Transport Secretary in a Commons Statement, it re-opened with an unofficial ceremony the evening of the timetable change, Sunday 15 May 2016. Monday saw the official opening; see the Railfuture press release.
• Coventry Arena and Bermuda Park opened on Monday 18 January. Originally announced by DfT in April 2014, work started May 2014, and services were planned to start in June 2015, but construction problems delayed completion and provisional opening dates passed amid controversy over whether Coventry Arena station will be open during events at the stadium. Because the route is currently operated by one-carriage trans they are banned from stopping within an hour of an event ending to avoid overcrowding. Long trains, such as charters, are allowed to pick-up passengers then.

2015:

• Rochester station opened on a new site, 500m west of its 1892 predecessor, on Sunday 13 December 2015.
• Apperley Bridge station and park-and-ride in Yorkshire opened on Sunday 13 December 2015.
• Cranbrook, part of Devon Metro - on the Exeter-Salisbury route, opened with timetable change on Sunday 13 December.
• Oxford Parkway first trains on 25 October, formally opened by the Prime Minister on 26 October 2015 as part of Chiltern Railways' Evergreen3 project linking Oxford to London Marylebone, which will also be the first phase of East West Rail. On the same day completely re-built stations at Bicester Village (formerly Bicester Town) and Islip opened. Services extended into Oxford on Sunday 11 December 2016.
• Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels, and Tweedbank all opened on 6 September 2015 as part of the Borders Railway. Marking its 5th anniversary, watch Those involved look back at 5 years of Borders Railway, then What Borders Railway has brought to the community, and What next for Borders Railway.
• Newcourt, part of Devon Metro on the Avocet Line between Exmouth and Exeter, supported by the first round of the New Stations Fund - first service on 4 June.
• Ebbw Vale Town opened on 17 May.

2014: Pye Corner near Newport opened 14 December, 8 months after work started, with service to Cardiff but not Newport, supported by the first round of the New Stations Fund; in Middlesbrough James Cook University Hospital opened 17 May 2014; Manchester Metrolink light rail station opened 31 March 2014 at Rochdale Town Centre.
2013: Energlyn & Churchill Park - new station opened on 8th December 2013 serving demand for rail travel around Caerphilly, with funding from Welsh European Funding Office; Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway - opened 7 months early on 19 May 2013, adjacent to existing Park & Ride site; Conon Bridge - closed 1960, re-opened 8 February 2013 with services by ScotRail
2012: Fishguard & Goodwick
2011: Armadale, Caldercruix, Drumgelloch (Airdrie - Bathgate line); Buckshaw Parkway, Southend Airport
2010: Dalston Junction, Haggerston, Hoxton, Shoreditch High Street (East London Line Extension); Blackridge (Airdrie - Bathgate line); Sampford Courtenay, Okehampton (summer Sunday service only)
2009: Corby (closed 1966, previously reopened 1987 then closed again 1990), East Midlands Airport Parkway, Imperial Wharf, Laurencekirk, Stratford International
2008: Ebbw Vale Parkway, Llanhilleth, Newbridge, Crosskeys, Risca and Pontymister, Rogerstone (Ebbw Vale line); Alloa, Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Heathrow Terminal 5, Mitcham Eastfields, Shepherds Bush, Stone (services suspended 2004)
2007: Coleshill Parkway (on Birmingham-Nuneaton line), Ebbsfleet International (for international services; domestic services started 2009), St Pancras International, Llanharan
2006: Liverpool South Parkway
2005: Larkhall, Merryton, Chatelherault, Kelvindale (formerly Dawsholm) (Larkhall line reopening); Gartcosh, Rhoose, Llanwit Major, Glasshoughton.

Interchanges

Where lines cross, Railfuture argue for the creation of interchange stations to create new journey opportunities, as for example by the new walkway between London Overground's Hackney Downs and Hackney Central stations, opened to passengers on 25 July 2015 and opened officially on 12 August 2015.
There is potential for new or improved interchanges at:

• Brixton
• Brockley
• Dorking
• Lewisham
• West Hampstead