I was delighted to be at the opening of our brand new Railway Station in Northampton on 12th January.
This is another significant improvement in the gateways to our town, which will improve the daily commute for thousands of Northampton residents and has been built with the environment and our local heritage fully in mind.
It will also help provide a first class impression to visitors, whether arriving here for business, pleasure, to consider whether to live here and commute, or whether to study at the University here for example.
I have described it to the press as a “50 year investment” for Northampton.
It is thanks to the Government’s long-term economic plan, investing in Northampton, that we have seen millions of pounds of investment from the Government come to Northampton in the past four years, which has supplemented money from local authorities and allowed this long-talked about project to actually go ahead.
Within weeks a WH Smith, and two nationally known coffee shops will open in the station.
This was Phase One of the project; in due course the platforms are to be improved and a new car park is to be built which will include a walkway directly into the station.
With London Midland recently starting a new train service which takes only 45 minutes to get to London Euston, it is right that we have a state of the art, attractive railway station to reflect our growing status as a town benefitting from a growing national economy.