Campaign for rail improvements in the East of England
The rail network serving the UK’s smaller cities – vital to national economic success - needs a series of upgrades to bring it into the 21st Century. The Regional Cities East (RCE) partnership, is concerned with the concentration of rail infrastructure resources on a limited number of ‘big ticket’ projects, like High Speed Rail.
That is why we have just launched an on-line petition to call for significant improvements to the Great Eastern Main Line. The petition coincides with the Government’s search for a new franchisee to succeed National Express.
RCE Director Neil Darwin, said: “Through the online petition, which is running in a number of towns and cities along the Great Eastern Main Line, we hope to show Government how much a quality rail service means to local people. We know that the service lags behind other parts of the country. We need people to sign the petition and support our call for the improvements that we so desperately need."
Anyone with an interest in their rail service should sign the petition by clicking here. Completing the petition will take no more than 2 minutes.
Centre for Cities event
As part of this campaign RCE recently held an event with respected think tank Centre for Cities, which looked at the important issue of City transport and the recession. The event was chaired by Dermot Finch, Chief Executive, Centre for Cities with opening remarks from Neil Darwin, Director, Regional Cities East. On the panel were Transport Minister Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP, Shadow Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP and Liberal Democrat MP David Howarth.
Among the issues put to the MPs present was the consideration being given by Regional Cities East smaller cities to have a more direct stake in the rail services they rely on.
RCE Director Neil Darwin said: “Smaller cities like the RCE members will be vital to the country’s recovery from recession, driving economic innovation and job creation. But they can only fulfil their potential if they have appropriate infrastructure. RCE wants to see that the right type of rail capacity is in place to serve its cities.
“High profile national projects like high speed rail are important, but they can’t come at the cost of ‘nuts and bolts’ improvements across the rail network. For instance, the Great Eastern Mainline, which connects Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester to London, continues to suffer from an extremely poor infrastructure and aging rolling stock, while Luton, Southend, and Peterborough’s station facilities are in need of fresh investment.”
Regional Cities East is calling for:
Faster Journey times
More carriage capacity
Greater investment in track infrastructure
Better quality travel experiences – (e.g. provision of Wi-Fi services and carriage cleanliness
