Ely North Junction

SOUTH West Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss is to press for Government backing for a £10 million improvement to rail links in West Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

Councillors and MPs from the region met at Westminster yesterday to call for radical improvements to East Anglia’s “Cinderella” rail services over the next 25 years.

And the immediate priority is to persuade Network Rail to invest in a £10 million scheme for the junction at Ely, which is a key cross-over for north-south and east-west rail services in East Anglia.

The first beneficiary would be the service between Lynn and Cambridge, which could become half-hourly.

Ms Truss, who chaired yesterday’s meeting, said it had been “extremely positive. We have focused and identified the main points that need to be presented to the treasury and the department for transport to secure the £10m required for the Ely upgrade.”

There are also hopes that the Ely scheme would allow the service between Ipswich and Peterborough to be increased from two-hourly to hourly.

Ms Truss is to meet treasury minister Lord Sassoon to try to get his department to back the business case for the Ely scheme and add to pressure on Network Rail to provide the funding for it.

Andy Tyler, secretary of the Fen Line Users Association, said: “It’s vitally important, it’s a growing, successful line between King’s Lynn, Ely and Cambridge. We have been calling for a long period for a half-hourly service. We’re delighted that local MPs are pressing for it, we support that very much.”