Detailed plans for a Universal Studios version of Wixams Station do not exist, a senior council officer has told councillors.
After an update on the new train station during last night’s Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Thursday) cllr Charles Royden said: “I suppose none of us actually want this station to be built.
“We want the new station that’s going to be bigger than this, that’s going to serve Universal.
“How easy will it be to change these plans into the plans that we want to provide the station we need if, or when, Universal comes?” the Lib Dem ward councillor for Brickhill asked.
Jon Shortland, chief officer for planning, infrastructure and economic growth, said: “The biggest difficulty we have at the moment is that the plans for the Universal version of the station don’t exist in detail.
“So we can’t overlay one on top of the other and see what fits and what doesn’t. What we have done though is work with Network Rail. And they have done some work which is coming to fruition in the next couple of weeks.
“[This] does give an indication that probably quite a bit of what we’ve done can be reused in a bigger station. The key thing is if the bigger station has four platforms.
“But are there four platforms with four tracks or are there four platforms with six tracks so that trains which stop can be overtaken by ones which don’t,” he said.
“Until we know the answer to that question, we don’t know really how much width we’ve got to play with,” he added.
Bedford Borough Council, which is funding the station, along with contributions from developers, is currently planning a two platform station which will serve the slow lines of the Midland Main Line (the lines used by Thameslink).
“But the construction project is being led by Network Rail and has a planned entry into service date of late 2026,” Mr Shortland said.
“We’re working with [Urban & Civic ] to look at what could be done in terms of providing retail facilities adjacent to the station and potentially some additional housing in the form of flats.”
The rail lines have been closed during recent weekends as part of the building works, and further closures are planned for May.
