Why the fight for two rail junctions is so important

The Labour party has joined the calls for two rail junctions to be upgraded as soon as possible.

After a meeting between business leaders and the shadow transport secretary, the party said upgrading Ely and Haughley junctions was "absolutely critical" to the future prosperity of the East of England.

There have been calls to improve them for more than a decade.

But why are they so important and why is it taking so long?

Both junctions are major intersections for both passenger and freight traffic.

Lines from Norwich, Peterborough, King's Lynn and Cambridge all run through Ely North.

The points at Haughley, north of Stowmarket, Suffolk, can switch traffic off the main London to Norwich line, over to the Midlands.

Improve the track and signalling around these junctions and it will make it possible to run more frequent passenger services, and particularly freight services to and from the port of Felixstowe.

Passenger groups say upgrading the junctions would lead to faster journey times for commuters.

The Eastern Powerhouse business organisation says it could remove 150,000 freight lorry journeys a year from the A14.

The latest estimate is that it would cost £20m to improve Haughley and at least £500m to upgrade Ely.

The original cost of the Ely scheme was put at £25m but the figure has ballooned as it emerged that as well as extra track and new signals, level crossings would need to be remodelled.

But Suffolk Chamber of Commerce says every pound spent on the project would give a return of £5.

People started talking about improving the junctions more than 15 years ago. In 2011 Liz Truss, then the newly elected MP for South-West Norfolk, started raising the issue with ministers.

"This is an ideal time to lobby for this project," she told me at the time.

"The government is looking for projects to help drive economic growth and we want East Anglia to be at the forefront of their minds."

There were numerous meetings between local MPs and business groups; visits to the Department for Transport (DfT) and questions in Parliament.

In 2012 the government unveiled a £9bn plan to invest in railways with the work to be completed by 2019.

The-then Health Secretary and Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley was sent to Ely to announce that the junction was on the list.

"It's about making sure we prioritise the capital projects that will have the biggest benefit in the long term," he told me.

There was spending on improving the line into London Liverpool Street and upgrading some stations but rising costs meant that in 2015 the Government had to delay some of the projects including Ely and Haughley.

The campaigning continued and in 2018 then-Transport Secretary Chris Grayling came to Ely to say that work could start as soon as 2019.

"This scheme is an early priority," he told me.

"There have been a number of things over the years that haven't happened. I want to make sure now this really does happen."

It didn't and everything stayed quiet until last October when the Prime Minister cancelled the northern leg of the HS2 rail line and promised the money saved would be spent on other transport projects, including Ely and Haughley.

The DfT told me: "We are committed to delivering the Ely Capacity Enhancement and upgrades to Haughley Junction.

"Network Rail has developed both schemes to outline business case stage and we will set out next steps soon on further investment for its development and delivery.”

Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Ipswich Jack Abbott said the party could not make any infrastucture promises at the moment but added: "We fully understand the case for improving these junctions and we are frustrated that two comparatively straightforward schemes have been left gathering dust after nearly a decade and a half of government indecision"

The case for improving Ely and Haughley junctions has been made relentlessly and the two main parties say they have heard.

Business groups and passengers continue to wait to see if the work will ever get under way.

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