Minister offers little assurance on future of Ely scheme
A £450 million scheme to increase capacity at Ely could be under threat, as the Department for Transport considers budget cuts in the face of increasing construction costs and passenger revenues flatlining.
Against a backdrop of Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps warning striking unions that they are threatening investment in the railways, there are fears that an announcement about the widescale abandonment of a number of upgrade schemes is about to be made, with the emphasis instead on smaller, cheaper projects.
Responding to regional business leaders and local MPs, when questioned about the Ely scheme, Rail Minister Wendy Morton warned them of “having to make difficult decisions” now that postCOVID passenger growth has halted.
She went on: “I am considering the necessary changes to the national enhancement portfolio and some projects will have to be cancelled or indefinitely paused.”
Her comments are seen as a strong hint that the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) programme, stalled since 2019, has been heavily slashed.
Morton said she “fully recognises the benefits of the Ely scheme” but warned that it “continues to require significant public funding.”
She added that “should the outcomes of the Spending Review impact on Ely”, the DfT would “explore opportunities to realise at least some of the desired outcomes [by] smaller, targeted investment enabled by future funding settlements”.
Prompting fears that the number of trains operated is to be cut, she said that Ely’s project benefits could be achieved “through wider operational changes to the network”.
The Ely scheme is linked with a proposed £20m upgrade to Haughley Junction (near Stowmarket), which provides access to/from the Ely route with Ipswich and Felixstowe.
Asked by RAIL if the Ely and Haughley schemes have been axed, the DfT would only say: “The pandemic has brought about enormous change to the railways, and government is having to make difficult decisions to bring spending back to affordable levels. We
understand the local interest in the Ely and Haughley projects and will publish an update on this shortly.”
There is considerable political pressure for the Ely scheme to go ahead from members of the East of England All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), representing local MPs, council leaders and representatives of the private and third sectors.
It was a letter from the APPG to Shapps urging that the Ely project be given the go-ahead, including dealing with “issues at the unresolved upgrade” also needed for Haughley, that prompted Morton’s reply.
The APPG wrote: “What is specifically needed now is a commitment to fund the next phase of development work for Ely within Control Period 6 and £20m for Haughley Junction, so improvement work can begin in 2023.”
MPs Giles Watling (Clacton) and Peter Aldous (Waveney) kept up the pressure by asking questions in the House of Commons on June 30 about its future.
In reply, Morton would only say that the DfT would be making an “upcoming update… shortly” to the RNEP.
The decision to cancel Ely would be an embarrassment for the Government, whose MPs hold the majority of East of England seats.
Among them is Foreign Secretary Liz Truss (South West Norfolk), who hailed last year’s £13.1m grant for the Ely project, saying it “built on the £9.3m secured in 2017”.
The APPG concluded on the threat to the Ely scheme: “It is clear that without such critical investment in our transport networks, current challenges will worsen and prevent the region and country - from reaching its full potential, environmentally, socially, and economically.”