Today, I met with Simon Burns MP, the minister responsible for rail to discuss the new Cambridge Science Park station.

I was accompanied by officers and local MP Jim Paice or more correctly Sir James Paice. Andrew Lansley MP also attended to provide some weight from government.

We had a visit to the site, all correctly dresses in our personal protective clothing of course. The site itself is huge and can only really be appreciated when on it. Work has already started on clearing the area of vegetation. The proposed location of the station was asked out with cones to give us all an idea of scale and location.

I then had a private meeting with the minister to discuss how the station can be completed as early as possible and how it will fit in with the rail franchise plans. We both agreed that moving as quickly as possible would be helpful. We also agreed that keeping the cost to a minimum was important.

Simon clearly understood that this new station was important for Cambridge, the county and the country.