The Wisbech to March railway reopening campaign received the strongest indication yet that the line will be reopened with the announcement that £250k of funding is being made available by the government for a Network Rail detailed engineering study. This level of funding would not have been announced if there wasn’t a strong chance of the line being reopened. There is much work still to be done, but today is a milestone for the project and time to reflect on just how far things have moved in the last 18 months and certainly something for our supporters to celebrate. We feel sure that Wisbech is heading unstoppably towards being reconnected to the rail network; the task now is to make sure this is done as quickly as possible.
The news as it was reported:
Wisbech Standard
www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/government_agrees_500_000_to_fund_studies_into_wisbech_to_march_rail_line_and_to_look_at_options_for_dualling_a47_to_guyhirn_1_3672796
The Government has agreed to spend £500,000 split between funding studies into re-opening the Wisbech to March rail line and dualling the A47 from the town to Guyhirn.
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Of the money for Wisbech, Mr Barclay said: “This is the breakthrough we have been waiting for. “For years people of Wisbech have felt forgotten with a disgraceful transport infrastructure situation where the people of Wisbech have had no train station and less than two miles of dual carriageway in the whole district.”
Norwich Evening News
www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/pot_of_gold_norfolk_suffolk_and_cambridgeshire_receive_60m_for_roads_rail_education_and_broadband_improvements_1_3672621
The long-awaited re-opening of Wisbech railway station took a step closer with the announcement of £500,000 which will go towards work to look at reopening the line between the town and March.
The money, which will be available in April 2015, is for two feasibility studies, which could see transport improvements on both road and rail in Fenland.
The first £250,000 is for a detailed engineering study, known as a GRIP 2 study, which will determine how Network Rail can deliver the project to re-open Wisbech railway station and re-instate the rail link between Wisbech and March. The other is for detailed feasibility work into dualling the Wisbech to Guyhirn stretch of the A47.
Steve Barclay
http://stevebarclay.net/double-delight-as-funding-is-approved-for-wisbech-transport-studies/
The long-awaited re-opening of Wisbech railway station took a step closer today with the announcement of… government funding.
….
The first £250,000 is for a detailed engineering study, known as GRIP 2 study, which will determine how Network Rail can deliver the project to re-open Wisbech railway station and re-instate the rail link between Wisbech and March.
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Today’s announcement is the breakthrough we have been waiting for. Now we need either Cambridgeshire County Council or Fenland District Council to agree to spend the money from their reserves on the understanding the funding will be forthcoming in April.
I am awaiting written Ministerial confirmation for either or both of the councils to use their reserves to enable the studies to be carried out this year on the understanding the money will be coming next year.
