Headlines of spiralling costs and massive overruns on a project to upgrade lines around Ely, in the east of England, fail to grasp the scope of the works planned. Minor improvements to the existing infrastructure had been proposed, but the growth in traffic, principally serving the East Coast port of Felixstowe, have been reason enough for the infrastructure agency Network Rail to put much bigger plans out to public consultation. Those plans carry a much higher price tag, but would unlock vastly more capacity for freight and passenger traffic, both key elements in the UK government’s drive to a green economy.
Historically a city because of its impressive cathedral, the small east of England settlement of Ely is far better known in the industry as a railway hub, where five lines converge, and services north-south and east-west cross on the flat plains of England’s low lying Fenland region. Always a busy junction, Ely has become synonymous with idling intermodal trains, held waiting for paths across the web of junctions and switches that criss-cross either side of the modest passenger station.
Why is Ely costing so much?
For several years, Ely has been in the sights of the infrastructure agency Network Rail. They even have a vowel-heavy acronym for the project: EACE – the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement. The programme, says rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris, should be accelerated despite costs escalating to almost twenty times the original estimate. However, the minister’s headline-grabbing speech to a recent rail conference, doesn’t tell the whole story.