MP urges for West Anglia not to be overlooked

West Anglia Main Line Taskforce Chairman Sir Alan Haselhurst MP told the Westminster summit that East Anglia faces a tale of two halves, and stressed the need for ‘weak links’ to Stratford and from Norwich to Cambridge to be more substantial.

He also highlighted northeast London, which he called the most neglected in the capital: “Stansted Airport has a lot to gain. The only spare air capacity is at Stansted, and that means that the airport link needs to have much extra traffic.”

He said the WAML Taskforce wants the railway four-tracked between Copper Mill Junction and Broxbourne Junction, saying: “It should have been done in 1985 when the route to Stansted was planned. It has been neglected.”

And he described Stansted Express as a hindrance to the operations of the airport, because of the level of service available.

Haselhurst, the MP for Saffron Walden, said the four-tracking would be a precursor to Crossrail 2, but acknowledged that other factors may be an issue.

“We have the tension of needs of inner and outer London, and there is a bottleneck into Liverpool Street. Tottenham Hale to Liverpool Street takes 11 minutes, and I do not see how that can be improved if Transport for London gets its way. The Department for Transport needs to judge.”

He said that the WAML Taskforce plans to finish its own report next month. “The GE and West Anglia reports will come together. There may be tension, but we want the same thing.”

Chris Rowley, Network Rail’s principal strategic planner for London and the South East, said of the four-tracking and Crossrail 2: “There are issues relating to lifting infrastructure recently installed. Four-tracking increases capacity, but you need a new outlet into London. We see Control Period 6 as tackling issues like level crossings.”