A major report into the state of rail services in East Anglia has found slow journey times, poor connections and a lack of investment are hitting Norfolk hard.
Political and business leaders say the government needs to commit millions of pounds in vitally-needed improvements to junctions at Trowse, near Norwich, and at Ely, to get better services running on the railways.
They headed to Parliament to exert pressure on the government, highlighting how the report, put together by Transport East - a partnership made up of businesses and councils - revealed:
- Poor east-to-west connections, particularly between Norwich/Ipswich and Cambridge/Peterborough
- Slow journey times - between Norwich and Cambridge trains only reach 60 to 75mph.
- Restricted capacity for freight trains means more lorries on the region’s roads
- Only two funded rail improvement schemes in the east - both in Cambridge
The leaders hope the 'State of Rail in the East Report' will help trigger improvements to rail for people and goods, including money for the Ely and Trowse junctions.
At Trowse, the single-line bridge, along with the junctions approaching it, acts as a bottleneck on railway lines into Norwich - limiting the flexibility to introduce new services and magnifying delays in the event of disruption.
READ MORE: Why is the Ely junction so important for Norfolk?
The Ely junction, which connects major routes in the region, including Norwich to Cambridge and Kings Lynn to London, is at full capacity and hindering growth as a result.
The summit follows another Westminster meeting last month where MPs urged for more investment in the region to boost buses and trains, saying the region was missing out on millions of pounds.
Nova Fairbank, chief executive of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, who attended the latest summit, said: "With the right investment the East economy could be worth £119bn by 2050.
"We have strong growth sectors in green energy, agriculture, digital services logistics and tourism, but to attract business investment we need a clear transport infrastructure pipeline, including rail."
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