IPSWICH: Transport minister Theresa Villiers has promised that there will be improvements to the main line between London and East Anglia, following an open letter from every MP in Suffolk and Norfolk.
Mrs Villiers told Ipswich MP Ben Gummer that she will ask police and rail companies to look again at the way they work to reopen rail lines which are closed after a tragedy.
Commuters from London were delayed twice within a week after two fatalities on the main line in Essex.
These problems on the line, and the news that the government announced a “short-term” franchise for the route was being extended to 29 months prompted the MPs to write an open letter demanding improvements.
Mr Gummer, who is leading the campaign, said: “I think we are getting somewhere. The government has said there is no reason why there should not be improvements before the long franchise starts.”
Mr Gummer is also hopeful that the government will re-consider the decision not to include the Great Eastern Main Line in the InterCity Express Programme (IEP) which would see it higher up the list for major improvements over the next few years.
n What should be done to improve the region’s railways? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
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