Could Cambridge station be renamed?

[LickeyIncliner]

Moderator note: split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/proposals-for-a-new-cambridge-south-station.141520/

Is there any clarity on whether the original Cambridge station will continue simply as "Cambridge", or become "Cambridge Central" or something similar?

As adamedwards pointed out, it's not exactly central...

 

[quantinghome]

Good to see this making progress. Is there any clarity on whether the original Cambridge station will continue simply as "Cambridge", or become "Cambridge Central" or something similar? As adamedwards pointed out, it's not exactly central...

Less "Cambridge Central", more "Fulbourn West"...

 

[fenman35]

Should that not be " FulbournE West"?

 

[Steve Harris]

Less "Cambridge Central", more "Fulbourn West"...

Considering Fulbourn is outside Cambridge I think you need to rethink your suggestion (as it's certainly more inappropriate than "Cambridge Central"). A more appropriate suggestion (other than Cambridge or Cambridge Central) would be 'Petersfield', as that is, I believe, the Council ward the entrance to the station is in.

 

[arb]

Less "Cambridge Central", more "Fulbourn West"...

Your logic is back-to-front. A potential future Fulbourn station is clearly to going be end up being named "Cambridge East", at which point we'll have Cambridge North, East and South. So therefore the only logical name that remains for the main station is "Cambridge West".

 

[zwk500]

Just call it Cambridge City and have done with the debate

 

[Steve Harris]

Just call it Cambridge City and have done with the debate

Or just simply 'Cambridge'

 

[zwk500]

Or just simply 'Cambridge'

That doesn't end the debate about the other 'Cambridge' stations though....

 

[Magdalia]

There are some decent options with a bit of creative thinking.

The station forecourt needs a statue. For argument's sake this could be of Newton or Darwin. The station could then be Cambridge Newton Court or Cambridge Darwin Court. It is important to use court not square because court is what the Cambridge colleges use.

Given the design of the listed 1845 station building I think Cambridge Colonnade would work well.

For something with a bit more railway tradition steal the name used by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and have Cambridge Exchange.

And the new station should be Cambridge Biomedical Campus or Cambridge Hobsons Park, both of which are better than Cambridge South.

 

[Steve Harris]

That doesn't end the debate about the other 'Cambridge' stations though....

As far as I'm aware there only needs to be a debate about 1 Cambridge Station, the one that isn't built yet !! (The other's already have names, didn't you know )

 

[PG]

And the new station should be Cambridge Biomedical Campus or Cambridge Hobsons Park, both of which are better than Cambridge South.

The precedent has been set though with Chesterton being named Cambridge North.

 

[ashkeba]

There are some decent options with a bit of creative thinking.

The station forecourt needs a statue. For argument's sake this could be of Newton or Darwin. The station could then be Cambridge Newton Court or Cambridge Darwin Court. It is important to use court not square because court is what the Cambridge colleges use.

The station is not in a college! The squares outside seem to be "hill" as Market Hill, Senate House Hill and Peas Hill, so Cambridge Newton Hill?

 

[Bletchleyite]

That doesn't end the debate about the other 'Cambridge' stations though....

South could validly be called Trumpington, or Cambridge Trumpington. You'd not call Bletchley "MK South", would you? (Though that was proposed at one point)

I think "Cambridge City" is a good name for the original one though. Works for St Albans City which also isn't right in the middle. Or Cambridge General, though there's otherwise only one of those left (Wrexham)!

 

[snowball]

The station is not in a college! The squares outside seem to be "hill" as Market Hill, Senate House Hill and Peas Hill, so Cambridge Newton Hill?

I once heard a somewhat ironic claim that Cambridge, like Rome, was built on seven hills, though Castle Hill is the only one I remember being a noticeable effort to cycle up.

No doubt in the Fens a few inches difference in height can mean the difference between wet and dry feet.

 

[bspahh]

I once heard a somewhat ironic claim that Cambridge, like Rome, was built on seven hills, though Castle Hill is the only one I remember being a noticeable effort to cycle up.

No doubt in the Fens a few inches difference in height can mean the difference between wet and dry feet.

There is Shippea Hill station, although it is below sea level.

 

[zwk500]

South could validly be called Trumpington, or Cambridge Trumpington. You'd not call Bletchley "MK South", would you? (Though that was proposed at one point)

Well, you might have when MK was being started up but there's little value changing it now. The Germans would probably call in Milton Keynes-Bletchley though.

I think "Cambridge City" is a good name for the original one though. Works for St Albans City which also isn't right in the middle. Or Cambridge General, though there's otherwise only one of those left (Wrexham)!

City works because it indicates it's the main station but it doesn't suggest it's slap bang in the centre. General to me feels like the closest UK equivalent to HbF, which Cambridge station isn't really (although the UK doesn't really do HbFs at all).

 

[Magdalia]

I once heard a somewhat ironic claim that Cambridge, like Rome, was built on seven hills, though Castle Hill is the only one I remember being a noticeable effort to cycle up.

The River Cam at Cambridge is fed by various tributaries with hills between the valleys. Going anti-clockwise from Castle Hill we have:

Castle Hill
Madingley Hill
Chapel Hill (Haslingfield, basically the old Barrington cement works)
Rowley's Hill (Harston, next to the railway)
White Hill (Shelford, next to the railway)
The Gogs (Gog and Magog Hills)
Lime Kiln Hill (Cherry Hinton)

It is possible to cycle up Madingley Hill, Chapel Hill, to the Gogs and Lime Kiln Hill. All are a noticeable effort.

The road bridge at the south end of Cambridge station is called Hills Road and the road leads to the Gogs.

 

[adamedwards]

Cambridge Botanic Gardens, as the University Botanic Gardens are a short walk away? Or would that lead to confused older gricers thinking it was a loco shed? (Botanic Gardens Hull for younger readers!)

 

[Magdalia]

Cambridge Botanic Gardens, as the University Botanic Gardens are a short walk away? Or would that lead to confused older gricers thinking it was a loco shed? (Botanic Gardens Hull for younger readers!)

I nearly put that in my list of suggestions!

South could validly be called Trumpington, or Cambridge Trumpington.

I don't think so.

For building the de facto eastern boundary of Trumpington is Hobsons Brook, which is the other side of the park. Between the new station and Trumpington the only access will be by walking and cycling (the elimination of road access on the Hobsons Park side was the greatest triumph of the first round of consultation). Nowhere in Trumpington is within 500m of the station, the criterion you have used elsewhere as a reasonable walking distance.

The precedent has been set though with Chesterton being named Cambridge North.

There is a difference. Cambridge North has road access and can be said to provide for all of the north of Cambridge. The same can't be said for the new station: the restricted road access means that it just serves the immediate locality, not the south of Cambridge as a whole.

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Petersfield Parkway.

(The "park" is for bikes, natch.)

 

[zwk500]

Petersfield Parkway.

(The "park" is for bikes, natch.)

There'll be some markedly confused Hampshire commuters

Cambridge south is fine, it's not like tourists are flocking to see Addenbrooke's hospital. People will be travelling there for either work/study (in which case they'll know which station they need) or to attend meetings/appointments (in which case they'll be given instructions on how to get to the location).

 

[Falcon1200]

Yes - It should be renamed The Other Place, as Cambridge is known in the rival and far superior city of Oxford !

 

[zwk500]

Yes - It should be renamed The Other Place, as Cambridge is known in the rival and far superior city of Oxford !

Then all the MPs would get confused how the House of Lords managed to wrangle it's own station

 

[mr_moo]

Yes - It should be renamed The Other Place, as Cambridge is known in the rival and far superior city of Oxford !

Then all the MPs would get confused how the House of Lords managed to wrangle it's own station

Very good! But we'd also have to re-name Oxford to something equally acceptable to the Cambridge folk...

 

[Bletchleyite]

Very good! But we'd also have to re-name Oxford to something equally acceptable to the Cambridge folk...

Polytechnic-on-Thames?

 

[Magdalia]

Yes - It should be renamed The Other Place, as Cambridge is known in the rival and far superior city of Oxford !

Cambridge is Cambridge, the other place is The Other Place.

 

[edwin_m]

Whatever you do, don't tell either that the railway regards Up as being towards London.

 

[30907]

Polytechnic-on-Thames?

Cowley Poly and Fen Poly in my day

 

[Brubulus]

Just leave Cambridge as Cambridge... It's still the main station for Cambridge and all re-naming would do is waste valuable money.

 

[JamesRowden]

Cambridge Great Northern Road