EEH has co-signed a letter sent to the Secretary of State for Transport and Chief Secretary to the Treasury urging the government to commit to the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement in the forthcoming Rail Networks Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP) funding period.
Ely is crucial to increasing capacity for rail freight on the vital Felixstowe-Midlands freight corridor - a key policy of EEH's transport strategy.
The letter, from the East of England All-Party Parliamentary Group chaired by Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner and Waveney MP Peter Aldous, states that the corridor is considered the highest priority for investment by the freight industry.
Work undertaken by Network Rail so far demonstrates that the improvements would deliver substantial national economic, levelling up and decarbonisation benefits through the planned doubling of freight capacity, alongside increased passenger services on poor frequency routes.
The benefits spread well beyond the East, supporting access and growth in the Midlands and North as well.
The letter has also been signed by the Chair of Transport East, Chair of the UK Innnovation Corridor, and the MPs who sit on the East of England APPG.
Letter to Transport Secretary from EofE APPG re Ely June 2022