The Case for Re-Opening Ampthill Station
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The Handley Partnership Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Instruction and Scope 2 2.0 The Station – Location, Access & Cost 3 2.1 Historical Context 3 2.2 Operational Layout 3 2.3 Site Constraints 3 2.4 Access 3 2.5 Cost of Construction 4 3.0 The case for re-opening Ampthill station 5 3.1 Present work-related travel patterns in the Ampthill area 5 3.2 Why choose the train? 7 3.3 How much extra time is required for the Ampthill stop? 8 3.4 Ampthill station as a public transport hub 9 Route 1 Ampthill Town – Ampthill Station. Route 2 Ampthill Town - Ampthill Station – Ridgmont – Ridgmont Station. Route 3 Ampthill Town – Ampthill Station – Millbrook Proving Ground – Millbrook Station – Marston Moretaine. Route 4 Ampthill Station – Ampthill Town – Maulden – Clophill – Shefford – Clifton – Henlow – Arlesey Station - Stotfold – Baldock Station – Baldock Town 3.5 How many people will use the station 12 3.5.1 Existing Rail Users 11 3.5.2 New users commuting from Ampthill 11 3.5.3 Commuting to Ampthill 13 3.5.4 Total usage 12 4.0 Conclusions 14 4.1 Physical Matters 13 4.2 Service Frequency 13 4.3 Potential Usage 15 4.4 Bus Links 13 4.5 Foot & Cycle Access 14 4.6 Potential Local Transport Plan Implications 16 Appendix 1 – Photographs 17 The Handley Partnership, 2004 The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 1 The Handley Partnership 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Instruction and Scope The following report has been produced following an instruction from Ampthill Town Council. The scope of the instruction was that an assessment of the potential usage of a new station in Ampthill should be assessed and that potential sites and costs of construction for the station should be established. At this stage of the assessment of the project, no particular sites are to be identified and, therefore, the general feasibility or otherwise of the proposal only is to be investigated. In addition to the reinstatement of the station, options for connecting bus services have also been assessed. Should it be decided that the project should proceed, then the next stage in its development would be to carry out a far more detailed assessment of potential sites and costs of construction. This would need to be done in partnership with landowners and other interested agencies. The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 2 The Handley Partnership 2.0 The Station – Location, Access & Cost 2.1 Historical Context Ampthill is a small town with a population of around 7000. Its station on the Midland Main Line was opened in 1868 and closed in 1959. Since the closure of the station, the former site has been redeveloped as a light industrial site and the access road from the station to the town centre has been breached by a new alignment of the A507 road (Ampthill bypass). 2.2 Operational Layout At Ampthill the railway comprises four tracks - two fast lines and two slow lines. The tracks are aligned with the up and down fast and slow tracks being adjacent to each other. This means that to adequately serve all options a platform face is required for each track. 2.3 Site Constraints To the north of the original station site the line passes into a tunnel and to its south it is built on a substantial embankment. These constraints mean that reconstruction of the station in any location other than its original site will be very difficult and will add very considerably to the cost of the works and the potential disruption to rail traffic. It is therefore recommended that any new station should be located on the site of the original facility. 2.4 Access As noted above, the road to the station from the town has been severed. Further work is required to determine the best ways to access the station and to prevent undue disruption to the existing users of the land adjacent to the station site. A range of options exist to provide alternative accesses and land for parking and other station facilities, but the investigations of these does not form part of the scope of this study. The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 3 The Handley Partnership In determining the most effective access point for the station and its facilities, the following points should be considered: 1) Efficient bus access between the station and town will be required (the bus route suggestions set out in this report assume that linkage along the former station road will be possible) 2) The location of new car parking facilities is less critical in terms of accessibility than that of bus facilities. Links between the redevelopment of the station and the release of other land for employment uses may present options. 2.5 Cost of Construction Given that site selection is not part of the scope of this study, it is difficult to make estimates for this for the cost of the works. However, based on analysis of other similar developments and the potential benefits that the project could bring in terms of the development of other land, it would seem reasonable that the station could be rebuilt for between £5m and £10m. A more detailed assessment of the cost of construction can be made following further analysis of the siting options and operational requirements. The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 4 The Handley Partnership 3.0 The case for re-opening Ampthill station 3.1 Present work-related travel patterns in the Ampthill area Table 1 Active Works no more than Works in nearby town Works mainly in Works more than working 2km from home or village Bedford or Luton 20 km from home population Ward area Number Number % Number % Number % Number % Ampthill 3,458 950 27.47 490 14.17 1,143 33.05 875 25.30 Flitwick 7,012 1,832 26.13 946 13.49 2,362 33.69 1,872 26.70 Maulden 2,322 471 20.28 499 21.49 758 32.64 594 25.58 and Clophill Shefford, 3,842 1,282 33.37 598 15.56 1,089 28.34 873 22.72 Campton and Gravenhurst Detailed analysis of 2001 census data was undertaken to establish the distance travelled to and mode used for journeys to work in the Ampthill area. Table 1 shows detailed analysis for work journeys under 20 km. One clear conclusion is that only around ¼ of the active resident workforce travel more than 20 km to work, with roughly the same proportion working no more than 2 km from home. Further analysis of the census data for Ampthill reveals that of the 950 who work no more than 2km from home, 344 work mainly at home and 606 travel less than 2 km to work, i.e. they live and work in Ampthill. Table 2 shows the method of travel to work for Ampthill residents. Table 2 Active Works mainly Train Bus, Car Car Bicycle On foot Other working at or from minibus or driver passenger population home coach Ampthill 3,460 344 238 63 2,284 157 49 281 40 If the assumption is made that all those using the bus, walking or cycling to get to work live and work in Ampthill, a total of 393 out of the 606 travel within Ampthill to get to work. The implication is that there are around 425 The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 5 The Handley Partnership commuting car journeys that are entirely within Ampthill, requiring the provision of over 200 parking spaces. Table 3 shows the number of economically active residents and the workplace population for Ampthill and nearby settlements. It can be seen that Ampthill has a higher proportion of local jobs than nearby settlements. This is largely due to two employers, Mid Bedfordshire District Council and the Millbrook Proving Site (the latter of which employs around 300 people at a location remote from public transport). Further analysis of the distance Table 3 Economically active Workplace population Jobs per economically active resident population resident Ampthill 3,458 3,055 0.88 Flitwick 7,012 3,784 0.53 Maulden and Clophill 2,322 1,085 0.46 travelled to places of employment in Ampthill is shown in Table 4. The discrepancy between the number for numbers living and working locally between Table 1 and Table 4 is accounted for by the fact that a large employer (Millbrook Proving) is located on the very western edge of the Ampthill ward. Table 4 Area Workplace Lives locally Lives in nearby Lives from 5km Lives mainly in Lives more than population town or village to less than Bedford and Luton 20km away 10km away % No. No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Ampthill 3,055 1,17 38.59 556 18.20 303 9.92 762 24.94 255 8.35 9 Table 5 shows the method of travel to work for some of the wards around Ampthill. The reason that the proportion using the train from Flitwick is 35% greater than from Ampthill is probably due to the fact that Flitwick residents can readily use the train to commute to either Bedford or Luton. The Re-opening of Ampthill Station – Pre-feasibility Study 6 The Handley Partnership Table 5 Area Economically Train Bus, minibus Driving a car Passenger in Walks or Other active or coach or van a car or van cycles residents that travel to work No. No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Ampthill 3,116 238 7.64 63 2.02 2,28 73.3 157 5.04 330 10.5 44 1.4 4 0 9 1 Maulden 2,047 123 6.01 28 1.37 1,64 80.4 110 5.37 102 4.98 38 1.8 and 6 1 6 Clophill Flitwick 6,421 667 10.39 93 1.45 4,55 70.9 350 5.45 651 10.1 104 1.6 6 5 4 2 Table 1 shows the distance travelled to work by residents of Ampthill and Flitwick follows roughly the same patterns in proportional terms.