Rail station project could cost council £32m

Bedford Borough Council will not be reimbursed for an estimated £32.1m that it spent preparing for and building a railway station, councillors have been told.

The construction of the two-platform station at Wixams was halted once it was decided that four platforms was needed to cater for the new Universal theme park.

The council terminated its contract with Network Rail, and the Department for Transport (DfT) has now tasked the government agency with starting the project again.

Jo Branson-Budd, head of capital projects at the council, told committee members that money already spent on the project would not be reimbursed by the DfT.

The government has been approached for comment.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, construction of the council-led station began in September 2024 and work was halted after the government backed the Universal project in April 2025.

The council had budgeted £62.6m for the original railway station plan. The four-platform railway station will be more costly.

Branson-Budd explained that £32.1m was the forecast total cost to the council from 2018 onwards, but said the final figure would not be known for up to 12 months.

"[The costs] are starting to slow down now," she said, speaking at the council's environment and sustainable communities overview and scrutiny committee on Thursday.

"We have a very experienced cost consultant who challenges [costs] to the hilt.

"[Network Rail] commented that they've never actually quite been challenged to this degree before.

"But that is the forecast worst case scenario.

"The trajectory was far worse than that, and the costs are coming down."

Conservative councillor Graeme Coombes asked if any of the £32m could be recharged to the DfT.

Ms Branson-Budd replied: "No, we won't get any reimbursement, however we will save the cost of completing the works that were started."

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