As we head towards the end of February, I’m delighted to see the news that the new Worcestershire Parkway station will officially open this Sunday, 23 February.

Worcestershire Parkway marks the first new railway station in Worcestershire for over 100 years, forming part of the Worcestershire LEP’s 2040 vision with a commitment to improve travel infrastructure for those travelling into and out of the county.

I am pleased to see this station opening as it will continue to improve the physical connectivity of Worcestershire to the National grid and encourage new tourists and businesses to the county to see everything it has to offer.

Users of the station will benefit from easy access from the B4104 and a 500-space car park. The station will also help to remove traffic from the county’s main roads and motorways as users will be able to park their car and pick up key rail services to London, Oxford, Cardiff and more.

Worcestershire LEP has invested a total of £8.3m of Government’s Growth Deal funds into the development of Worcestershire Parkway Station.

Looking forward with Worcestershire Parkway, the new station and its rail services will be discussed as part of the Worcestershire LEP Annual Conference 2020 on 31 March. With a dedicated breakout session, attendees will be able to hear from the North Cotswold Line Task Force and SLC Rail on how this new station and its services will develop as we head to a connected Worcestershire into 2040.

I believe that this breakout session also offers attendees the unique chance to voice their concerns and issues with the station to help inform future developments.

I would encourage those interested in the station to attend the upcoming Worcestershire LEP Conference and book onto the Worcestershire Parkway breakout session. To do this, visit the Worcestershire LEP Conference website – www.wlepconference.com