Despite the present minority Conservative Government and its harsh austerity programme, there is still a trickle of infrastructure improvements reaching completion. However, these were originally commissioned under the Coalition Government by Liberal Democrat Transport and Environment Ministers. One of particular interest to the East of England is the construction of a new junction, which will pass under the East Coast Main Line (ECML) at Werrington, just north of Peterborough. Work has just started and it should be completed by 2021.
It will allow freight trains going to Felixstowe to cross the ECML without interfering with traffic on the fast lines. In addition, upgrades elsewhere on the route between Peterborough and Felixstowe are planned including a third track between Peterborough and Huntingdon.
These improvements will improve the Nuneaton to Felixstowe freight services and take more containers off the region’s roads – especially off the A14.
This will be a major benefit to a large number of people at a relatively low cost compared to grandiose projects like HS2!