Chelmsford’s long-awaited Beaulieu Park Station is set to open soon, marking a major milestone in Essex’s transport infrastructure.
The £160 million project will be the first new station on the Great Eastern Main Line in over 100 years, aimed at easing pressure on Chelmsford Station and improving rail links between the city and London.
Backed by Network Rail, Greater Anglia, and Essex County Council, the station is also expected to support thousands of new homes in the rapidly growing Beaulieu area, as part of wider plans to futureproof the region’s transport network.
When will Beaulieu Park Station open?
According to Essex County Council, the station is now scheduled to open to passengers “from autumn 2025”, ahead of its original 2026 timeline.
Construction began in March 2023 and has since delivered major milestones — track realignment, station structure, and the roof are all complete.
The project was originally scheduled for completion in 2026 as part of the new Chelmsford Garden Community.
What will Beaulieu Park Station offer?
The station will offer 40-minute journeys to London Liverpool Street, with frequent services—up to four trains per hour at peak, scaled back to two off-peak.
It will feature full accessibility, with lifts, waiting areas, toilets, baby‑change facilities, and space allocated for retail or a café.
We also know it will be a three‑platform station, with twin car parks (700 spaces), a bus interchange, taxi bays, drop-off zones, 500 bike storage spaces, step-free access, and new tracks that allow fast trains to pass through uninterrupted.
The station is backed by significant investment — £218 million from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, with another £34 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and local developers
It forms the transport backbone of the Chelmsford Garden Community, which already has 4,350 homes with planning permission (1,989 built), and plans for another 6,250 homes, schools, businesses, and green spaces
Councillor Louise McKinlay said in a statement: “Essex is pioneering the type of infrastructure-supported growth that's on the national agenda, being bold and ambitious in our commitment to future-proofing the county and putting investment where it's most needed.
“The new Beaulieu Park station is a testament to this, and the role it will play in transforming travel in this part of Chelmsford and surrounding areas will have a positive impact for years to come.
“The progress being made to build the station is remarkable and I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work to get the project to this stage. I'm very much looking forward to the station opening later this year.”
You can get a fair indication of what to expect when the station does open this autumn by seeing the most recent CG videos of it on National Rail's website. Although a precise date has not yet been set, progress is being made towards the original winter 2025 target. Hopefully, there won't be any last-minute problems and Chelmsford residents will have access as quickly as possible.
