The critical role of the rail improvements promised by the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) scheme in maintaining Britain’s trade connections is underlined once again. A recent report highlights eight points on why EACE implementation is critical and seems to enjoy universal support. 

The “Keeping Trade on Track” report produced jointly by the stakeholder groups England’s Economic Heartland and Transport East has garnered nationwide support from business and political quarters, emphasising the need to increase rail freight capacity at Ely. The promoters say it serves as a comprehensive overview of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement scheme, highlighting its significance in supporting UK economic growth and levelling-up initiatives – the latter being the UK government policy of encouraging growth in the north of England to redress the economic imbalance, which perennially favours the south-east and London.

The EACE scheme, promoted by the national infrastructure agency Network Rail, aims to enhance rail infrastructure to facilitate the smooth movement of freight from Felixstowe to the Midlands and north while also improving regional passenger services. The report says the EACE would enhance access to global markets for the Midlands and northern regions, which are the destinations for 70 per cent of containers originating from Felixstowe, Britain’s biggest intermodal port and its busiest intermodal rail freight terminal.

High cost-benefit ratio

According to Network Rail, the implementation of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement scheme would enable an additional 2,900 freight services to operate annually to and from Felixstowe. This would result in the removal of tens of thousands of truck journeys from the roads each year, reducing congestion by millions of hours and cutting carbon emissions by nationally significant amounts.

The scheme would facilitate extra passenger services between Ipswich and Peterborough, as well as London, Ely and King’s Lynn, stimulating hundreds of thousands of additional rail passenger journeys. The high cost-benefit ratio of the scheme is highlighted in the report, with every one pound invested returning almost five pounds in benefits to the UK economy – well in excess of the government’s minimum requirements for national infrastructure projects.

Significant benefits to national economy

The “Keeping Trade on Track” report showcases supportive statements from prominent freight and logistics companies, including Freightliner, Maritime Transport, GB Railfreight, and Hutchinson Ports – the operators of Felixstowe. Industry representative groups, including Rail Freight Group, Rail Partners, and Logistics UK have contributed to the report. It also highlights the cross-party support from Members of Parliament, peers, and local authorities.

The report emphasises that upgrading around Ely is a shared priority among four sub-national transport bodies – England’s Economic Heartland, Transport East, and at least two bodies remote from the region – Transport for the North, and Midlands Connect. The consensus remains that there are significant benefits to the national rail network and the national economy at large, by improving the rail infrastructure around Ely. “Levelling-up is not about where the concrete is poured, but where the benefits will be realised”, said Blake Jones, Rail Managing Director at Freightliner. “Unblocking Ely will help unlock economic growth across the country.”