The Norfolk Rail Taskforce have issued the first in what will be a regular series of briefing notes, to keep stakeholders fully updated on progress with the work of the Rail Taskforce. They hope it will be used widely to cascade information to organisations and individuals’ networks.
Equally important, will be feedback to inform the discussion and debate on options, and to provide evidence of the economic imperative for investment in improving our train services.
The work of the Taskforce is crucial for all business and leisure travellers. It is fundamental to the future of the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk economies, to ‘UKplc’ and to the thousands of businesses located in the three counties who want to compete and win in the UK/EU and global marketplace.
The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of this project at PMQ’s in the House of Commons on Wednesday 2nd April: Chloe Smith: It is as quick to go 225 miles over land and sea from here to Brussels as it is to go half the distance on the train to Norwich. Does my right hon. Friend agree that East Anglia needs investment in better, faster rail infrastructure and that the Norwich in 90 taskforce will bring benefits to businesses and passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex?
The Prime Minister: I pay tribute to my Hon. Friend and others for the work they are doing on the Norwich in 90 taskforce. This is a very important project. I welcome the interest shown by business leaders, local authorities and enterprise partnerships. East Anglia is one of the fastest-growing parts of our country and it has world-class companies and universities. Better transport will support and bolster that growth and I look forward to the taskforce report that I know she is working on. I hope that it will be used to shape the specification for the long rail franchise, which should start in 2016. We look forward to working with you in coming months. Chloe Smith MP Mark Pendlington Joint Chairs, Rail Taskforce
