Rail minister Lord Hendy is visiting Britain’s newest station today, after it opened to passengers yesterday morning.

Beaulieu Park in north Chelmsford has been built with the aid of £141 million from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund as part of the Chelmsford Garden Community project, which will include 10,000 new homes as well as shops, healthcare centres and schools. Another £12 million for the station came from the South-East Local Enterprise Partnership and £22 million from the developers of Beaulieu.

The three platform station has 705 parking spaces in two car parks, a public transport interchange and over 500 cycle spaces. The first train to call on Sunday morning was the 07.20 to London Liverpool Street, and up to four trains an hour call during the peaks.

Operator Greater Anglia was nationalised earlier this month.

Lord Peter Hendy said: ‘With over £140 million of Government investment, the opening of Beaulieu Park station marks a major milestone for economic growth in the East of England, unlocking thousands of new houses, creating over 2000 jobs, and driving prosperity across the region.

‘Under the trusted services of publicly-owned Greater Anglia, we’re delivering on our Plan for Change by building a simpler, more modern rail network that supports communities and powers the UK’s economy.’

Greater Anglia managing director Martin Beable added: ‘Beaulieu Park station will benefit from a regular and reliable service, making rail travel simple and convenient for passengers. Services will be operated by our fleet of new, comfortable, air conditioned class 720 trains, which also offer plug/USB points and free Wi-Fi - and have helped us deliver annual punctuality of over 95 per cent on the Great Eastern Main Line in Essex over the last three years.

‘The new station will be staffed from the first train to the last train, seven days a week. Staff will be on hand at all times to answer questions, help passengers buy tickets, and support customers requiring assistance. Located right next to the Beaulieu housing development and the A12, we expect the new station to be a very attractive and popular option for travellers from that part of Essex.’

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