On Air Now
Heart Breakfast with Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden 6:30am - 10am
Peterborough & Ely: Rail Improvements
16 July 2012, 11:03 | Updated: 16 July 2012, 11:26
Millions of pounds worth of improvements are to be made to railways in Peterborough and Ely.
The upgrades, announced by the government, form part of a £9 billion package of improvements to railways across the country.
Work across the country is expected to be completed during the next two years.
£240 million will be spent upgrading the East Coast Mainline, which runs from London through Peterborough and north to Edinburgh.
This will include faster journeys and capacity for more trains.
In Ely [Pictured - above right - South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley & South West Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss at Ely Station], millions of pounds will be spent upgrading the Ely North junction.
This will result in upgrading a section of track from single track to double track.
This should result in faster and more frequent services from Ely to Kings Lynn, Cambridge, London and Norwich.
It is also expected to result in fewer delays to passenger services caused by freight trains.
Funding will also be go towards electrifying lines, reopening old railways and bringing in new trains.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: "From Crossrail, high-speed rail and now the billions of pounds of investment we are announcing today, this Government is committed to taking the long-term decisions to deliver growth and jobs.
In what is the biggest modernisation of our railways since the Victorian era, this investment will mean faster journeys, more seats, better access to stations, greater freight links and a truly world-class rail network.''
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg added: "This is the biggest expansion in railways in over 150 years, with more than #9 billion of investment across the country.
Whilst we inherited a deficit greater than any in our nation's peace-time history, we knew that we had to give the country the boost it needs, to build great railways and make journeys better for the millions of hard-working people who use the train every day."