A campaign by the Forest City project
Bring Back Haverhill’s Railway
The East of England’s largest town without a station. Cut off since 1967. It’s time to put that right.
Over 27,000 people. Zero trains.
Haverhill lost its railway in the Beeching cuts. Nearly 60 years on, it remains the largest town in the East of England without a station — and a much wider catchment of surrounding villages, including Sturmer, Kedington, Withersfield and Steeple Bumpstead, has been cut off with it.
The cost is felt every day:
- A1307 to Cambridge — mostly single carriageway, potholed, gridlocked at peak.
- Last bus to Bury St Edmunds: 18:15. No service at all on Sundays or bank holidays.
- No through coach to London. No direct bus to Stansted.
- 22 miles to Stansted Airport — 30 minutes by car. Two hours by public transport, with at least one change. Effectively impossible on Sundays.
This is what transport planners call Transport-Related Social Exclusion — the quiet cost of a town cut off. Forced car ownership for families who can’t afford it. Disabled residents making 30% fewer journeys than everyone else. Young people leaving because there’s nothing to stay for.
What a station would unlock
Haverhill back on the map. Plugged into the rest of the country, properly, for the first time in two generations.
A new station with services every 15 minutes would deliver:
- A direct line to London — Liverpool Street in under 1hr, no changes.
- A direct line to Stansted Airport — ~20 minutes. No transfer, no £40 taxi, no two-hour bus.
- A direct line to Cambridge — ~20 minutes, every train, every day.
- A direct line to the Victoria Line at Tottenham Hale — central London under an hour.
- East Anglia, finally joined up — direct trains to Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich; onward to Felixstowe and the Suffolk coast. Norwich within reach via a single planned junction upgrade.
- A late-night service — last train home long after the last bus has gone.
- A way out, and a way in — for the kids who’d otherwise leave, and the businesses, visitors and family who’d otherwise never come.
Indicative westbound journey times, towards London
Approximate; based on existing Stansted Express and Cambridge–Ipswich timings. Final timetable subject to operator and Network Rail confirmation.
| Cambridge | ~22 minutes, direct |
| Stansted Airport | ~20 minutes, direct |
| Tottenham Hale (Victoria line) | under an hour, direct |
| London Liverpool Street | ~65 minutes, direct |
Indicative eastbound destinations, into East Anglia, via Forest City Central
Routings shown are based on the planned line and existing East Anglian services; specific journey times depend on the final timetable.
| Newmarket | via the doubled Cambridge–Ipswich line |
| Bury St Edmunds | the bus that stops at 18:15, replaced by a train that doesn’t |
| Ipswich | with onward connections to Felixstowe and the Suffolk coast |
| Norwich | reachable with the Haughley Junction upgrade — ending the absurd Stowmarket reverse |
Built straight onto the existing 48-minute Stansted Express, and onto the Cambridge–Ipswich line we’d double-track as part of the project. Greater Anglia has already said it would be pleased to operate a restored Haverhill service.
This is what being part of the country looks like.
The proposal in detail
Haverhill Station
A new two-platform station on the north-west edge of Haverhill, at the A1307 / A1017 interface — close to the Sainsbury’s roundabout and the existing retail park. Easy to reach by car, walk and bike from across the town and from surrounding villages such as Sturmer, Kedington, Withersfield and Steeple Bumpstead. No demolition. No disruption to the historic centre.
How it works
- A train every 15 minutes, all day, in both directions.
- Two platforms, allowing trains to pass without holding each other up.
- 2,000 parking spaces, making it a genuine regional hub for West Suffolk and North Essex — not just a Haverhill-only stop.
- Direct bus links and active travel routes into Haverhill town centre and surrounding villages.
- Operated by Greater Anglia, using the same rolling stock as the Stansted Express.
How it gets built
The new line uses the upgraded and double-tracked Cambridge–Newmarket route, branching south near Dullingham, running through the heart of the proposed Forest City, into Haverhill, and continuing south to a new through-platform at Stansted Airport — turning Stansted from a dead-end terminus into a proper through station on the way to London Liverpool Street.
The route uses gentle countryside topography, with parts of the former Colne Valley alignment available for re-use. Engineering studies in the Forest City feasibility report confirm it is technically feasible.
Who pays
This is the question that has killed every previous Haverhill rail proposal. A standalone line for a town of 27,000 people doesn’t clear a Treasury benefit-cost ratio.
Forest City changes the maths. With a new city of one million people on the route, the Eastern Orbital becomes one of the highest-value rail investments in the country — and Haverhill gets its station as part of nationally significant infrastructure, not as a regional favour Whitehall keeps deferring.
Read the full feasibility study
Engineering studies, route alignment, station design and the business case are set out in full in our feasibility report, We Can Build A City.
Download the report (PDF) →This isn’t a new idea
Haverhill Town Council and Railfuture East Anglia have been campaigning for this for decades. The Cambridge Autonomous Metro plan included it. Suffolk County Council’s own Haverhill Area Transport Plan all but admits the A1307 is failing because there’s no alternative.
What’s been missing is the business case to make it fundable.
We’re bringing it.
Progress so far
This campaign isn’t starting from scratch. Here’s where we are.
Plans presented to the East of England APPG in the House of Commons.
Endorsed by our board, Railfuture East Anglia, and senior figures across business, government and infrastructure.
Comprehensive business case for a Haverhill station put together — the missing piece previous proposals have lacked.
Consultation event hosted at Haverhill Arts Centre with local residents.
Full report published and currently being reviewed by central government.
The people behind it
Restoring Haverhill’s railway has the backing of senior figures from across business, government and infrastructure. This is not a fringe campaign.
Dame Patricia Hewitt
Former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry & Health
Professor Tim Leunig
Former Chief Economic Advisor to two Prime Ministers
Jackie Sadek
Chair, UK Innovation Corridor
Steve McAdam
Architect, King’s Cross & London Olympics masterplanner
The campaign is led by the Albion City Development Corporation, with formal partners including Herbert Smith Freehills, the National Federation of Builders, the Community Land Trust Network, and Railfuture East Anglia.
Add your name
We’re building a list of people who want Haverhill’s railway back. Politicians, councils and civil servants need to see the demand.
If you live here, work here, grew up here, or just believe a town this size deserves a train station — sign.