A report by Transport East has highlighted benefits of extending East West Rail to Norfolk, Suffolk, and North Essex.

Around 60 delegates came together at the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket for the launch of East West Rail – East: The Case for Investment in the Eastern Section of the East West Railway, a report prepared by Transport East on behalf of the East West Rail Eastern Section Board.

It argues for investment in rail infrastructure to unlock potential of the East and says the region is one the UK’s most productive and dynamic in the UK, offering gross value added (GVA) of £163 billion, more than 270,000 businesses, 3.2 million jobs and some of the nation’s busiest ports and airports.

But historically, many areas are poorly connected due to underinvestment in rail.

Cllr Alexander Nicoll, chair of the East West Rail Eastern Section Board, said: “This report makes a compelling case for why better rail links across the East are essential for our future.

“Connecting our communities to jobs, education and new opportunities – while supporting sustainable growth – is at the heart of what we want to achieve.

“We have a real opportunity now, while work is progressing on bringing East West Rail to Cambridge, to make the rail infrastructure improvements needed to maximise the value of Government’s committed investment.

“These improvements aim to extend the benefits of more frequent, reliable and faster train services to communities and businesses across the East.

“The enthusiasm at today’s event shows the strength of partnership across business, local authorities and transport bodies and we ask government to support us to deliver this vision.”

The reports specific proposals include:

  • Enhance regional and local rail connections – increasing frequencies along east-west routes to Norwich, Ipswich and north Essex, improving journey times, reducing waiting times when changing.
  • Strengthen cross-Cambridge connections – to include eastern Cambridge and neighbouring towns in Norfolk and Suffolk and increasing rail access to key employment hubs.
  • Taking freight off roads and onto rail – improve connections to increase rail freight capacity across the region.

The board says it will now work with local authorities, central Government, new Mayors and the rail industry to identify the detailed pipeline of improvements needed to deliver more services and build the business cases to secure investment.

Jonathan Denby, head of corporate affairs for train operator Greater Anglia, said: “Evidence from evolving passenger demand across our network shows that where you improve train service frequency and service quality, more people choose to travel by rail.

“We’ve seen that with trends not just on busy routes like the Norwich to London intercity line and the Stansted Express, but on regional routes such as Norwich to Sheringham and Ipswich to Lowestoft.

“The combination of new trains, good performance and better frequency, means rail travel in the East is thriving and the prospects for the future are good.

“We are therefore committed to working with partners across the region to make the case for the pipeline of infrastructure improvements needed to allow more services to run between Cambridge and Ipswich, Norwich and north Essex, with all the benefits that would bring for customers and communities.”

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