On Wednesday 16th December, Jo Churchill MP delivered an Adjournment debate regarding the East Anglia Rail Franchise, ahead of the bid closure on 17th December.
The debate called upon Clare Perry, Parliamentary-Under-Secretary of State for Transport to take into the consideration the desperate need for improvements including upgraded rolling stock, service frequency and reliability as well as station facilities.
Mrs Churchill was joined by numerous East Anglia MPs representing Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridge. In a lively session, colleagues raised issues including branch line delays and poor interconnectivity.
Mrs Churchill said after the debate: “The turnout the debate received just goes to show the importance of this issue to the whole region. We were all in agreement last night; the current state of our rail services in East Anglia simply is not good enough.
The outcome of the franchise bid should deliver interconnectivity to passengers and the stations and provide the services and rolling stock we need and expect from a twenty first century service. This should not just meet the long-held expectations for the region, but exceed them and that was the intention of my debate.
Following last night’s debate, I am encouraged and feel assured that the needs of East Anglia have been understood and it will be up to the winning franchise, announced in April, to deliver the first class service we need and deserve.”