Fenland Council says they are hopeful commuters will use their new – and free – £1m car park at Manea instead of opting to drive to Ely, March, or Peterborough to catch a train.
And the council has even launched an online survey to find out what people think about the new car park.
“Before the station had a car park it wasn’t feasible to promote use of it beyond those few people who could easily walk to it or get there by other connecting public transport,” said Cllr Chris Seaton, portfolio holder for transport.
“Now people who have previously driven to March, Ely or even Peterborough before catching the train can now make a more local trip to Manea – park for free – and board the train there.”
Cllr Seaton was speaking ahead of a ‘meet the manager’ event in Manea to have a free cuppa and cake and chat with Greater Anglia and East Midlands railway bosses.
Managers from both and representatives from the Hereward Community Rail Partnership (CRP) are holding the event at Café No.29 in High Street, Manea on Thursday, 21 September.
Cllr Seaton said that everyone is welcome between 10am and 1pm to discuss general rail issues and to ask questions about train services.
He said the car park, which opened last month, is intended to be big enough to serve the station and area as it grows over coming decades.
It includes 100 parking spaces, disabled bays, a cycle shelter, CCTV, and low energy lighting.
Cllr Seaton said the Hereward CRP, which is managed by Fenland District Council in partnership with train operators, railway user groups, station adoption groups and local residents who help look after the Hereward Line, has now launched a survey to find out people’s views about the new station car park.
It can be completed during the ‘Meet the Manager’ event or online at: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ManeaStationSurvey
Martin Moran, Greater Anglia’s commercial and customer service director, said Greater Anglia was looking forward to holding its first ‘meet the manager’ event in Manea.
“It’s really important to us to hear from passengers about what matters to them and answer any questions they may have,” he said.
“We are keen to listen and to understand people’s experiences so that we can work to continually improve our service and meet customers’ expectations and needs.”
