A NEW £360,000 cycle hub has opened at Salisbury station. 

It is the first phase of forecourt improvements which South Western Railway (SWR) will be part-funding through their Customer and Communities Improvement Fund.

Representatives of SWR, Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire College and University Centre and Co Bikes were all at the station to open the hub, which is a joint project between SWR, DfT, Wiltshire Council and Co Bikes with 74 cycle parking spaces and an e-bike docking station.

It was officially opened by Councillor Tom Corbin, Mayor of Salisbury, who is also a SWR train driver.

The £360,000 funding consisted of £310,000 from the Department for Transport’s Cycle Rail fund and £50,000 match-funding from Wiltshire Council.

SWR said: "Working to offer opportunities for imaginative partnerships that can help to reduce the number of unnecessary car journeys is important to SWR and so the Company is very pleased that Wiltshire College and University Centre is installing a Co Bikes docking station at its Salisbury Campus to improve the green travel offer for students and staff arriving at the station.

"This is hopefully the first of many across Salisbury and the surrounding area to link up with the station."

Andrew Ardley, SWR’s regional development manager for the West of England, added: “Rail travel is one of the most environmentally friendly mass transport options and so SWR is delighted that this project is now a reality, giving customers using Salisbury station sustainable and practical travel options for their onward journey as well as a secure place to store their own bikes. This scheme is only the first stage of a much bigger improvement planned for the forecourt."

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council Cabinet member for transport, said: “We’re really excited that the new cycle hub and e-bike docking station is now open providing visitors and residents viable, environmentally friendly alternatives to the car for their journey to and from Salisbury railway station.

“A key part of our business plan is investment in cycle routes to connect our local communities and to provide options for different modes of transport. To outline our commitment to this, we have put in a Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) bid for a further three e-bike hubs in Salisbury.”

Helen Scholes, Marketing and Partnerships at Co Bikes commented: “We’re delighted to launch our first e-bike hub in Salisbury in partnership with South Western Railway. Our data shows that, of all the e-bike trips taken this year, over a third started or ended at a train station, demonstrating how well bike share and train integrate with one another."