24.03.17
Improvement plans at Ely North move forward with £8.8m LEP investment
The rail network in East Cambridgeshire is set to receive a £8.8m cash injection from two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the area who will fund studies into improving services in the region, including at Ely North Junction.
Network Rail will carry out the studies, which will outline plans to increase rail capacity and upgrades to rail and freight services from King’s Cross to King’s Lynn, Ipswich to Peterborough and Felixstowe to Nuneaton.
Of the total investment, £3.3m will be provided by the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP and New Anglia LEP each to fund the work, whilst the Strategic Freight Network will contribute £2.2m for the proposed works.
Liz Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, who has campaigned for upgrades to Ely North Junction since 2015, said she was “delighted” that funding had been confirmed by the LEPs for preparatory work on the Ely North junction and its adjacent roads and level crossings.
“This is a project I first raised with the Department for Transport in 2011, meeting rail ministers as well as lobbying the transport secretary on the significant benefits of upgrading the rail junction,” she added,
“During the past two years, I have held rail summits pressing for all parties to work together so that a clear understanding of what will be needed in terms of costs and design can be produced” Truss explained.”
The justice secretary also gave credit to the local councils, Network Rail as well as the LEPs and rail companies along with the Department for Transport who had engaged so successfully with the task.
“Meeting every month under the Chairmanship of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council leader Ray Harding, they ensured the scheme remained on track with all necessary expenses fully accounted for,” stated Truss.
“This is a key infrastructure project in the east that will provide a fantastic boost not only to the economy of South West Norfolk but the wider region as well.
“Work can start on developing the scheme in a couple of weeks and will take 24 months to complete. This will then place the Ely Area Enhancement Project at the front of the queue for the next round of government funding.”
Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP, said:“The Ely North Junction project will bring with it huge improvements for passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and for services connecting the UK’s busiest container port at Felixstowe with the Midlands and the North – both delivering jobs and economic growth for the East.
"Together with GCGP LEP and Network Rail, we’re confident that our investment can convince Government of the vital need for this project, and create the rail network businesses and passengers want and deserve.”
And Richard Schofield, route managing director for NR’s Anglia route also said that the news was a "fantastic example of the power of local decision making and devolution".
"This was never just a rail scheme, the benefits can be realised much more widely. By working collaboratively across industries and boundaries we’ve achieved a really innovate approach to funding development work here" he said.
"If it demonstrates a positive business case, the upgrades would benefit the region for years to come and help us to deliver our ambitious Railway Upgrade Plan.”
(Image: c. John Sutton)
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