This project determines the feasibility of delivering a rail station for Clay Cross... the previous one closed in 1967.
A rail station would provide regional connectivity for Clay Cross and the adjacent communities of North Wingfield, Wingerworth and Grassmoor.
This would give great commuter prospects to quickly arrive in neighbouring cities for those living in the area, should the project be viable. Residents would have improved access to cities of Derby, Sheffield and Nottingham, and towns in between. Likewise, Clay Cross would be more accessible to visitors from elsewhere too. Residents would have better means to travel for work and study, increasing connectivity between regional businesses and improving access to educational facilities and giving the opportunity to those who cannot drive to accessing a wider range of job opportunities or commute to university. A railway would simply make residents' lives easier.
Funding from the Town Regeneration Project has been used to carry out a feasibility Study into the potential to create a railway Station in Clay Cross.
Although located on the Midland Main Line and adjacent to the junction with the Erewash Valley Line, Clay Cross currently has no station provision.
Consultants have now completed the study, the output of which is a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) to confirm the strategic viability of the proposal. The SOBC is used to make the case for change and is an important first step to feed in to the Department of Transport’s long-term strategy of determining the rail infrastructure network across the region.
The SOBC has considered a detailed analysis across several key dimensions and includes a preliminary assessment of - strategic fit, value for money, affordability and achievability. From this analysis the SOBC confirms that a rail station fits strongly from a strategic, financial and management perspective.
The study also considered several potential railway station sites based on connectivity to Clay Cross and its expanding residential areas, existing foot and cycleway facilities along with improved local bus networks. From this, a preferred station location has been identified and concludes that the station should be served by the existing Leeds-Nottingham service.
There has been regular engagement through the development of the SOBC with key rail industry partners, allowing the high-level conclusions on engineering and station locations to be aligned.
The SOBC concludes that there is a sufficient basis for the Department of Transport to consider further, the development of the Clay Cross proposal beyond this first SOBC stage.
Download the full report.