George Freeman and fellow MPs meet with Justine Greening to formally submit the East Anglia Rail Prospectus

This week I, alongside a group of cross-party MPs, met with Justine Greening to formally present and hand over the East Anglia Rail Prospectus. It was a real pleasure to see the culmination of nine months work which brought together thirty-six MPs across four key regions. The meeting offered a great opportunity to convey the importance of East Anglia Rail route in generating enterprise, investment and growth in the region.

The prospectus offers a bold new vision for long-term investment over the next twenty years to unlock the enormous growth potential of the areas surrounding the East Anglia rail route. Top of the Prospectus priority list is the much needed improvements to the junction at Ely, which will allow trains to run more frequently between King's Lynn and London and between Norwich and Cambridge, bringing benefits to communities and commuters across Norfolk.

For too long the eastern region rail network has endured under-investment despite a growing demand for more capacity. I have often said that we will never build a 21st century economy on 19th century infrastructure. The region is an enormous contributor to revenue, and our prospectus will ensure that it gets the recognition it deserves. We have an opportunity to create a ‘new California’ which harnesses the growth potential that the region has to offer through bio-science, clean technology, IT, farming, food, tourism – the list goes on. The pioneering approach reflects the appetite across political parties, local businesses, county councils and local enterprise partnerships to ensure that we work to foster economic growth across the region.

For further information about the meeting, visit the BBC News website here: http://bbc.in/LrAPhk