The Cambridgeshire railway station brought back to life after 56-year closure
Most of Cambridgeshire's lost railway stations are likely to remain only as nostalgic stories and converted buildings. However, one railway station in the county was once considered lost – but is now thriving with thousands of passengers using it each year.
The original station at Soham first opened in 1879 on the line between Newmarket and Ely and closed in 1965. Although the railway line safely carried thousands of people during its operative years, Soham station was the site of a disaster during WWII.
A munitions train was travelling through the station on June 2, 1944, carrying highly explosive bombs. The leading wagon of the train caught fire as it approached Soham, creating a very dangerous situation for all those nearby.
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The train crew managed to detach the wagon from the rest of the train, but the cargo exploded as they moved the wagon. Two men were killed, including the train's fireman James Nightall and a Soham signalman named Frank Bridges.
Several other people were injured. The explosion created an enormous crater, destroying many of the station buildings, with around 700 nearby homes also damaged by the blast.
Amazingly, emergency repairs to the line were carried out and the line reopened to freight traffic within 18 hours. Passenger traffic resumed the following day.
The driver of the train, Benjamin Gimbert, was awarded the George Cross for his quick thinking which prevented further damage that would have occurred if the rest of the train had exploded. James Nightall was also awarded the George Cross, after his death.
The new railway station at Soham reopened in December 2021, with the first service being a 6.49am Greater Anglia train to Peterborough. It cost £22million to complete and now sits on the line between Peterborough and Ipswich, with trains to Ely, March, and Peterborough, or Bury St Edmunds, Stowmarket, and Ipswich.
It has been used by thousands of passengers since reopening, with 14,196 passengers in 2021-22. In 2022-23, 55,518 passengers travelled through the station.