On Friday 4th December, Jo Churchill MP attended the Suffolk Rail Conference ‘Opportunities for the East Anglia Rail Franchise’, hosted by Suffolk County Council and held at Ipswich Town Football Club.
Mrs Churchill was joined by local business leaders, county councillors and representatives from Network Rail for a series of talks and workshops, to examine the need for changes to the service currently available within the region.
The meeting was the last opportunity for local leaders to argue the case for improved rail services in and around Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, as the East Anglia Rail Franchise invitation to tender, draws to a close.
Following the conference, Mrs Churchill said: “I was delighted to attend the Suffolk Rail Conference, to keep up the pressure to deliver the rail service my Bury St Edmunds constituency and its surrounding areas require. Without vital improvements to local rail transport, I fear progress in all sectors across the county will be stifled.
I have already written to the Secretary of State for Transport as well as Clare Perry MP, Parliamentary-Under-Secretary for Transport. I have also raised this issue in the House, for I am keen to see the transport needs of Suffolk taken into full consideration, by the Department for Transport in conversation with Network Rail and deliver an effective oversight with lasting improvements. As the invitation to tender ends on 17th December, I will continue to drive forward plans for a twenty-first rail service for Bury St Edmunds and for Suffolk”.