Universal UK could get trains from Europe - mayor

Trains from continental Europe could reach Universal's new UK theme park if improvements to a railway station are made, a council meeting has been told.

The attraction is due to be built on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks, near Bedford.

Bedford's Conservative mayor Tom Wootton told Bedford Borough Council's executive committee the government had asked for work on nearby Wixams railway station to be paused while proposals for a larger station are considered, adding that this could possibly accommodate trains from abroad.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the government would ensure the project was "well connected and easily accessible".

The mayor told the meeting: "It does mean for the residents of Wixams a small pause while they get a very, very large four [platformed] train station that will even have a roof, I am told.

"But also I am told that they're probably thinking of bringing trains from further afield than London, possibly even abroad."

Currently, a Eurostar service runs from Europe to London via the Channel Tunnel with a stop at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy station, near Disneyland Paris.

"If we get the platforms right, so that a certain train can come all the way from France, that does ease a lot of problems and I'm looking forward to it," said Mr Wootton.

The mayor added these were "rumours" he had heard and plans for the station had not yet been confirmed.

Proposals to build a station at Wixams, a new town close to Bedford, were first made in 2003.

In July 2024 Bedford Borough Council agreed to enter an agreement with Network Rail to construct a two-platform station at a cost of £62.6m.

Universal has previously promised it would upgrade the station with two extra platforms.

Now the mayor has said the council will no longer fund the construction due to negotiations between Universal and the government.

Mr Wootton told the BBC: "We're not going to be faced with that burden. It's going to be a national government thing and that's part of the negotiations with Universal.

"We've now heard from the government that we should cease work because they'd have to tear down some of the work we do because they have plans now to build a four-platform, very large station.

"They'll be building the station and it won't be the little old council that's building a village station. There's going to be something a lot bigger."

In a statement, a DfT spokesperson said: "As part of the Plan for Change, the government will commit to a major investment in infrastructure around the site to support the delivery of the project and ensure it is well connected and easily accessible.

"Further details on government plans for infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course."

Eurostar services used to stop in Kent at Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International stations, but this stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic and never returned.

When Mr Wootton was asked if it was realistic that Eurostar could operate to Bedfordshire, he responded: "Anything is possible.

"If I had said to you a year ago that we're going to have 450-acre theme park here, people would have laughed.

"If I say to you now: 'We're building a train station, make sure it's big enough that we can have very large French trains come,' I think that's a possibility. We're just asking for the platforms to be a bit longer."

Eurostar has been asked for comment.

Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston, Mohammad Yasin, told the BBC the idea of trains coming from Europe was "exciting".

He continued: "There are speculations; people are talking about it. If it happens I will fully support it but I've not heard from anybody yet.

"It can happen. I will be speaking with the relevant people in the coming days and months. It's a possibility; we have to make sure it's a reality. We will work towards it

"It would be really, really exciting. Bedford would be linked straight with Europe."

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