Today Jim has offered his support to his colleagues in Norfolk who are seeking to get the Ely North Rail Junction upgraded as part of their wider campaign for better rail links for East Anglia. 

The junction, located at Queen Adelaide in Jim’s constituency, is where the rail lines to Cambridge and London from Kings Lynn, Norwich and Peterborough converge and currently limits the frequency of trains which can run on the lines. If it were to be upgraded to double track rather than the current single track then potentially a half-hourly service could run on all three lines.

Jim said, “It seems clear to me that upgrading the Ely North Junction will help unlock the economic potential of the wider region by allowing more frequent services from Kings Lynn, Peterborough and Norwich via Ely, and so can only be a good thing. The upgrade will also benefit Ely itself – more trains per hour travelling between Ely and Cambridge / London is good news for commuters, businesses and tourists alike – and so I fully support the work being done by my colleagues in Norfolk to achieve this. 

Demand for rail travel continues to grow and, as the Government is prioritising rail investment, I hope that together we can persuade Network Rail to invest in the Ely North Junction so the infrastructure can keep up with this demand.”

The proposed upgrade will cost between £5-£10m which would be funded by Network Rail. MPs are currently working on a business case to present to the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury so that he is fully aware of the benefits of Network Rail in investing in this project.