A GOVERNMENT minister and a local MP were at Ely rail station today to formally announce a �25 million investment to allow more trains through the Fens from Kings Lynn to London.

Health Minister Andrew Lansley and SW Norfolk MP Elizabeth Truss revealed details of the local scheme as part of a �9 billion package of rail improvements.

Mr Lansley said work to re-design the Ely North junction could begin almost immediately. Once complete it would allow half-hourly trains between King’s Lynn and London.

“If you want growth in the economy, you have to invest in success,” he said. “And Cambridge is a success.

“There’s a strong technological connection between Cambridge and Norwich. When you look at East Anglia, you have some great technology for the future and we have to invest in that.”

Now that government funding had been secured for Ely North, Ms Truss said the priority would be the electrification of the Cambridge - Norwich line, an as yet unexplored and uncosted option.

“If you look at how electrification drove traffic on the Fen line that’s what we need on the Norwich to Cambridge line,” she said.

Ruud Haket, managing director of train company Greater Anglia, said: “We welcome the news that Ely North Junction is being improved to pave the way for more frequent train services.

“It is important that all of us who care about the region’s railways and its wider prosperity continue to make the compelling case for rail investment in East Anglia, building on the tremendous news about the improvements for Ely Junction.”