New £31million train station to open in English market town with direct routes to three UK cities
AN English market town is getting a new train station with much faster trains to a number of beautiful UK cities.
Plans are underway to make Rotherham Gateway Station in West Yorkshire a reality within the next six years.
The new train station will have both rail and tram services and will reduce travel times to destinations like Leeds, York and Birmingham.
Journeys to Leeds will be 30 minutes faster and trains to York will be quicker by 35 minutes.
Services to Birmingham will get the biggest boost, with journeys becoming quicker by 40 minutes.
According to the BBC, when Rotherham Gateway Station opens, it will reintroduce mainline trains to Rotherham for the first time since the 1980s.
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Local services shuttle between Sheffield and York, calling at the town's current station, Rotherham Central.
However, Rotherham Gateway Station could benefit from mainline services from stations in London - although no new routes have been confirmed.
Slated to open by 2031, a masterplan of the station has just been finalised - although sites are still being acquired.
The station's main building will be a multi-purpose space, housing a business centre in a bid to make it a hub for commuters.
Improvements will also be made to walking and cycling routes to make it easier for people to reach the station on foot or by bike.
An artist's impression shows what the new train station could look like with a large public space featuring a smattering of trees.
There is also a large car park in the digital image.
Rotherham Gateway Train Station will reportedly cost £31million to build, with a feasibility study currently underway.
Its Outline Business Case is in its final stages and will be submitted to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority later this month.
Elsewhere in the UK, Oxford's main train station is undergoing an £161million revamp.
New direct routes will also connect Oxford and Cambridge.
Cambridge is getting a new £183million train station, with Cambridge South Station opening this year.
And two new train stations are being built as part of the new HS2 line.
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Beijing to Ulaanbatar
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