In advance of the tender submissions for the East Anglia Rail Franchise, Jo Churchill MP has written to Rt Honourable Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport.
In the letter written on Friday 19th November, Jo Churchill MP spoke of the pressing need to “improve rail services on the lines between Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough all of which pass through Bury St Edmunds”. This will not only improve the quality of the rail service within the region but alleviate pressures on the A14 trunk road.
Mrs Churchill outlined to the Secretary of State, the strain on services at Bury St Edmunds station which carries 600,000 passengers a year despite only having 25 car parking spaces. In addition, the service runs infrequently and is often overcrowded. In her letter, Mrs Churchill stated her concern for the fabric of the station building and urged the Minister to provide adequate monitoring to ensure the successful submission delivers the necessary improvements.
In an effort to deliver an improved service for Bury St Edmunds and provide a suitable alternative to vehicle travel, Mrs Churchill proposed expanding the rail line between Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge as well as making more land available around the site for additional commuter car parking spaces.
Mrs Churchill MP said: “I am determined to ensure that Bury St Edmunds and the county get their fair share from the East Anglia invitation to tender. My letter to the Secretary of State follows up a letter already written to Claire Perry MP, Parliamentary-Under-Secretary of State for Transport to push for an hourly service between Ipswich and Peterborough.
It is only right that the tender seriously considers provisions for Bury St Edmunds, as a stopping point for lines between Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough as well as being situated on the busy A14. With the station in desperate need of repairs and with proposals to expand our town, I will continue to lobby hard ahead of the closure of the bid on 17th December, to deliver to Bury St Edmunds what it desperately needs.”