East to share in £9 billion rail investment

The Government has announced that it plans to invest £9 billion in the national rail network, and at a Cabinet meeting this afternoon it will confirm exactly how much of that will go to services in the East.

The announcement is expected to include £240 million of funding to improve capacity and reduce journey times on the East Coast Main Line, which passes through Peterborough, and plans to dual the line at Ely North to tackle the bottle neck and improve services from King's Lynn and Norwich to Cambridge.

There are also plans to electrify the line from Bedford to Sheffield, at a cost of £800 million, and to improve lines from Felixstowe to increase freight capacity from the port.

It appears though that the often criticised London to Norwich line has missed out, affecting commuters from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.