Freight sector awaits decision to ease Ely bottleneck as capacity is 'exhausted'

Upgrades at Ely and at Haughley Junction remain in the balance, with the rail industry looking to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spending Review later this year for answers.

At Ely, five tracks converge, creating a bottleneck for container traffic passing through the junction from Felixstowe (via Haughley Junction) towards the Midlands.

The Ely Area Capacity Enhancement is a project aimed at enhancing capacity to cope with ten trains per hour in each direction, instead of the current six.

Despite promising discussions before October’s Budget, which led some to think that the project could finally get the green light, no announcement was made.

And since then, Rail Minister Lord Hendy has said that decisions made by shipping company Maersk to stop using Felixstowe for large containers, instead moving them to London Gateway, would “definitely have an impact on any decision about such projects as the Ely upgrade”.

However, the Rail Freight Group (RFG) believes the projects still have a purpose - especially as part of the argument for growing freight, which remains part of the government’s plans.

“Businesses across the country are seeking to make the most of rail freight, especially with supply chains, and this is driven by a need to decarbonise,” RFG Assistant Policy Manager Phil Smart told RAIL.

“It is simple, though, that without these improvements, we will not be able to meet the government’s objectives for modal shift and achieve that growth.”

The cost of the capacity upgrade at Ely is estimated to be £500 million, while Haughley Junction’s upgrade is estimated at £20m.

Each could offer wide-ranging benefits for passenger services, but a source told RAIL that cost will still be an issue.

“There is a £22 billion black hole which is only being started to be chipped away at. Not only that, but £2.9bn of it is unfunded transport commitments, so I’d imagine it would be hard to sign something like this off right now,” the source said.

Meeting decarbonisation and growth targets are already a clear positive for the scheme, to which Network Rail had allocated a positive Benefit:Cost Ratio (BCR) score. But Smart explained that this upgrade would also exploit unused capacity.

“The opening of the new junction at Ipswich in 2012, and the lengthening of the double-track section of the Felixstowe branch, has increased capacity for up to 48 trains a day. Yet only 38 (23 via Ely) of these can run, as we have now exhausted capacity at Ely and Haughley,” he said.

“These junctions are at the top of the priority list and, once upgraded, will build the business case for further investment west of Ely.”

This is a view held by Freightliner, which has long been a supporter of the proposed scheme.

“The upgrades of Ely and Haughley junctions remain important schemes for the freight sector,” said Policy and Government Affairs Director Peter Graham.

For Freightliner, unlocking capacity on the route remains the scheme’s most important selling point.

Graham added: “Growing rail freight volumes to deliver greener supply chains and achieve rail freight growth targets requires modal shift to rail. 

“We need sufficient capacity on the network to timetable more freight trains to grow volumes, which means addressing the bottlenecks across the network.”

The project was originally mooted just over a decade ago, and has had several false dawns.

For now, the Department for Transport is tight-lipped on its plans, telling RAIL: “Economic growth is a key priority for this government, and we are committed to delivering transport infrastructure which will play a vital role in our mission to rebuild Britian.

“A review of transport projects, including the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and upgrades to Haughley Junction, is ongoing and we will announce further details in due course.”