{"id":42839,"date":"2024-05-13T18:03:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T08:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=52448"},"modified":"2024-05-13T18:03:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T08:03:48","slug":"uk-rail-bosses-make-further-calls-to-deliver-promised-ely-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=42839","title":{"rendered":"UK rail bosses make further calls to deliver promised Ely upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to make good on commitments to Ely and the East of England. Rail bosses in the region want commitments to improvements. They are emphasising the need for the UK government to stick to the pledges made more than six months ago. Freight and passenger services are being hampered, say the management at a major passenger operator in the area.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The abandonment of the northern leg of HS2, between Birmingham and Manchester, was supposed to release funds for other projects. That\u2019s the understanding of rail bosses and elected representatives in the East of England. However, they say no progress has been made, and the lack of certainty is impacting not just the region but the economy of the UK at large.<\/p>\n

Specific reference to East of England bottleneck<\/h2>\n

Back in October last year, the UK prime minister Rishi Sunak famously cancelled the high-speed rail project<\/a> to Manchester. Ironically, he chose to do so while addressing a party political conference \u2026 in Manchester. Sunak compounded the insult by saying that funds would be redirected to other projects around the country. He specifically made reference to resolving a bottleneck that severely restricts the flow of intermodal freight trains. It\u2019s a chokepoint to and from the Port of Felixstowe, linking logistics distribution hubs in the Midlands and the North.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Heading north out of Ely. The track crosses the flat Fen Land, all reclaimed from the sea, as far as the eye can see. In your face, Netherlands. Image: \u00a9 Network Rail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the heart of this issue lies Ely. The railway layout there poses significant challenges. Ely serves as a nexus for rail traffic. Five lines converge on the town, including a critical freight route connecting Felixstowe with logistics distribution centres in the Midlands and the North of England, and Scotland. However, improving layouts and junctions is problematic. The flat, low-lying Fen Land complicates any alterations, especially at-grade level crossings, where there is difficulty diving under due to water table issues, and neighbouring property makes flying over an unattractive option.<\/p>\n

Delays in critical infrastructure upgrades<\/h2>\n

Nevertheless, no progress has been made on the long-standing plans held by the infrastructure agency Network Rail. The Ely Area Capacity Enhancement project<\/a> (EACE) is stalled and awaiting funding. Jonathan Denby, the head of corporate affairs for passenger train operator Greater Anglia<\/a>, is not impressed. He told local media that the region is unable to fully leverage his company\u2019s substantial 1.4 billion pound (1.65 billion euro) investment in new trains.<\/p>\n

\"Intermodal
Intermodal traffic from Felixstowe is set to grow, but how much of it will be able to traverse the rails through Ely in Cambridgeshire? Image: \u00a9 Luka Chalklin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denby says the problem is down to delays in critical infrastructure upgrades, principally the EACE project. Despite the prime minister\u2019s announcements last year, nothing has happened. The government has yet to confirm funding or timelines for their implementation. The initial estimate of 500 million pounds (585 billion euro) for the project was made back in January 2020. The cost has likely increased considerably due to rising construction costs and inflation.<\/p>\n

Add significantly to intermodal dispatches<\/h2>\n

In an interview with a local newspaper, Denby stressed the urgent need for progress on the Ely area upgrades<\/a>. He reiterated the project\u2019s significant regional and national benefits. Felixstowe is already aggressively expanding rail freight operations and would like to add significantly to the 35 intermodal trains dispatched each day.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Norman Cathedral at Ely was built in the eleventh century – before HS2 was cancelled. Image: \u00a9 Simon Walton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denby would also like to double Greater Anglia passenger services between Ely and King\u2019s Lynn, Ipswich, and Peterborough, and add extra services between Norwich and Cambridge. Currently, the infrastructure doesn\u2019t allow for that level of expansion.<\/p>\n

Waiting for the bounty to be distributed<\/h2>\n

Greater Anglia says that passenger numbers have surpassed pre-pandemic levels and continue to rise. That makes extra services even more vital. Felixstowe is already Britain\u2019s busiest intermodal rail terminal, with a stated policy to increase rail services even further.<\/p>\n

Without addressing the current limitations in infrastructure, the full potential of neither freight nor passenger services can be realised. Denby reiterated his call for the government to make good on its commitments. However, his is not the only voice calling for action. Ely and the East of England is not the only region waiting for Westminster\u2019s HS2 bounty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time to make good on commitments to Ely and the East of England. Rail bosses in the region want commitments to improvements. They are emphasising the need for the UK government to stick to the pledges made more than six months ago. Freight and passenger services are being hampered, say the management at a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":19580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9141,1087,2315,1089,343,9142,9143,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eace","category-ely","category-greater-anglia","category-hs2","category-infrastructure","category-jonathan-denby","category-rishi-sunak","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42845,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42839\/revisions\/42845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}