Transport Insights

The Department for Transport (DfT) has rowed back on an apparently false claim from a minister that the previous government “closed” the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements rail scheme.

As I noted last week, roads minister Simon Lightwood stated in a written parliamentary answer that:

The Ely Area Capacity scheme was closed by the previous government…

This was inconsistent with what has been said elsewhere, including by Lightwood, and Network Rail considers the scheme to be awaiting a funding decision.

I asked the DfT to clarify Lightwood’s claim that the scheme had been “closed”.

It did not do so. Instead, a spokesperson told me:

We recognise the importance of the Ely Junction scheme, and we fully anticipate it will be part of a pipeline of projects to be considered as part of future funding decisions.

There is a strong case for Ely Junction, and we are committed to working with a broad range of stakeholders to support its inclusion in the future pipeline.

This describes the current situation, where Ely is not in the pipeline and did not appear on a list of schemes “under consideration” published in July and has very little prospect of funding anytime soon.

Lightwood clearly said something that was not true, according to the official position, although both the Tories and Labour have a habit of claiming that things are officially on the books when they have been shelved.

The DfT also pointed out, quite rightly, that the scheme was included in the Tories’ much derided “Network North” scheme, but never funded. Indeed, the Network North Document states:

Ely Junction will be upgraded. This transformative scheme will see an extra six freight trains per day to and from the Port of Felixstowe – the equivalent of taking 98,000 lorry journeys off the road every year, including across the Midlands and the North.