The Great Northern Railway main line from London to Peterborough had opened in 1850 including stations at Sandy and St. Neots.

[1][2] It was located 47 miles 40 chains (76.4 km) from London King's Cross.

[4] In January 2020, the company announced that it had selected a route that would cross the ECML "in the Tempsford area", bypassing both Sandy railway station and St Neots railway station.

The company did not formally decide at that point if East West Rail would use the old location or a new site,[5] However, in March 2021, the East West Railway Company opened an 'informal consultation' on proposals for the central section’s route alignment and thus the location of this station.

[6] In May 2023, the EWRC announced Tempsford as the preferred location for the new interchange station and dismissed the "St Neots South" option.