Ely North

Five railway lines converge on Ely from Cambridge, Newmarket, Norwich, King’s Lynn, and Peterborough. The lines to King’s Lynn and Norwich split from the Ely-Peterborough line at Ely North Junction. The Combined Authority has worked with Network Rail and partners to fund and prepare the case for improving rail capacity at Ely, and it continues to be committed to persuading the Government to give the go-ahead to this crucial piece of work.

Why is it important?

The rail junction in Ely is a bottleneck affecting passenger and freight travel by rail throughout East Anglia, to the North, and nationally
Ely is a growing market town, a cathedral city and major tourist destination, and its railway connection is now holding back growth
Due to the junction layout, trains are often delayed, and it is not possible to add more frequent services
Currently many passenger trains are crowded, while freight is limited by the number of trains that can pass through the
Limiting public transport is restricting growth and home and job opportunities around Ely and much of Cambridgeshire

What difference will it make?

Improving rail capacity around Ely would:

Increase public transport use into and out of Ely
Increase growth opportunities around Ely
Allow for more freight to travel by rail into the wider region, instead of by road
Allow for more passenger trains through to the wider region