New shelters installed at Whittlesea and Manea stations

The new shelters are just one of the many upgrades made possible by the £9.5 million investment in Fenland’s railways by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.

As part of the Fenland Stations Regeneration Project, driven by Fenland District Council on behalf of the Hereward Community Rail Partnership, three new shelters were installed in total including one at Manea station and two at Whittlesea station.

The design of the station shelters were chosen by the public as part of a consultation in August 2019. Respondents had the choice between modular rail shelters crafted from durable and renewable accoya wood, an anti-vandal stainless steel structure or a similar stainless steel and aluminium shelter.

The general public ultimately opted for the natural accoya wood shelters provided by Natural Shelter. The shelters themselves are low carbon sustainable structures which will be 100 per cent recyclable when they come to the end of their service lives.

Cllr Seaton, Fenland District Council’s portfolio holder for transport, said: “The response from the public to our consultation has been fantastic and it’s wonderful to see so many individuals getting involved. We hope that these new station facilities will encourage more people to experience the scenic Hereward Line through Fenland.”

Mayor James Palmer, leader of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, said: “This is just the start of the series of improvements going ahead in several towns as part of our Fenland Stations Regeneration Project. And while those other improvements are on the way I won’t relax the pressure for more train services so travellers have more trains to wait for in these excellent new shelters.”

The project management was undertaken by Greater Anglia in partnership with its suppliers Natural Shelters and RCU Solutions. Following a formal handover between the project team and the Greater Anglia operational team, Greater Anglia has formally adopted the shelters as its asset.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s asset management director, said: “We’re very grateful to Fenland District Council and the Hereward Line Community Rail Partnership for their support in securing funding for upgrades to Fenland stations and for their work with the community to ensure that the new shelters would meet the needs and expectations of local people.”