Lowestoft and Peterborough MPs join call for Government to back upgrades to Ely and Haughley rail junctions

Improvements to rail services between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire could ‘unlock economic growth across the country’, a coalition of leaders has said.

Jess Asato, MP for Lowestoft; Andrew Pakes, MP for Peterborough and Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, are some of the MPs and leaders urging the Government to back rail line upgrades between Ely and Haughley.

In October 2023, the previous Government confirmed funding would be made available to deliver the scheme.

The recently-reformed East of England All-Party Parliamentary Group is calling on the new Government to give the scheme the green light as it would ‘unlock economic growth across the country’.

The group believes such improvements could support the country’s net-zero ambitions while also allowing for better passenger services.

In addition, it could allow for 2,900 extra freight trains to dock at the Port of Felixstowe per year, while also allowing for about 277,000 extra fares annually.

The group issued the call as transport bodies, England’s Economic Heartland and Transport East, released an updated report on the scheme.

It said it has seen enthusiastic support from politicians, businesses and authorities across the UK.

Ms Asato said line upgrades will benefit people and businesses right across East Anglia, including her constituency, a base of the UK’s offshore wind sector.

She said: “These schemes will enable increased passenger services, shift freight from road to rail, and will help achieve our ambitious decarbonisation targets.

“These projects must be funded as a priority.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Pakes felt the scheme was key to a number of strategic priorities laid out by the transport secretary.

These include improving railway performance, greener transport and transforming infrastructure, he said.

Mr Pakes added: “Alongside allowing more goods to be moved more efficiently right across the UK, improvements to Ely Junction will also unlock capacity for better rail services in Peterborough, supporting the regeneration of our city and helping to realise its significant economic potential.”

The parliamentary group believed the Ely to Haughley scheme had a ‘remarkably high benefit-cost ratio’ and said it could return ‘£4.89 of benefits for every £1 invested’.

Its impacts would be felt across the country as new freight services connect to terminals in the Midlands and the north of England, which could reduce congestion by 5.6 million hours per year while also removing 98,000 HGVs from the roads per year, the group said.

Dr Johnson said: “Ely means business. Open up Ely, and you open up a world of opportunity for Global Britain.

“Unblocking Ely will enable passengers and freight to move freely not just through the East but through the Midlands and the North, with benefit surging throughout the UK.”

He said the scheme could make life better for hundreds of thousands of people.

“For too long, UK growth has been fettered by this problem and now is the time for action. Open Ely and open all the world,” Dr Johnson added.

Liz Leffman, chairwoman of England’s Economic Heartland sub-national transport body, said its conversations with the freight industry demonstrated ‘unparalleled demand’ for increasing levels for freight via rail.

She added: “The rail capacity improvements needed at Ely are of national significance.

“The scheme is an important connector for the economies of the Midlands and north and provides significant potential to relieve congestion on strategic roads while reducing emissions caused by HGV journeys which could more appropriately be made via rail.”

Will Quince, chairman of Transport East, said upgrading the Ely and Haughly junctions was an immediate priority for the region.

He said: “Solving these rail pinch points would help connect our growing places, energise our rural and coastal communities, and unblock our international gateways.

“All while helping achieve net zero transport and bringing into the Treasury five times the required investment. We must get these moving.”