LIB DEMS PLAN RAIL BOOST

6.49.06pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 9th Aug 2007

Improvements to the Nuneaton to Felixstowe rail line, which would help move freight off the dreaded A14, are among the projects listed as worth of support from a new 'Future Transport Fund' which could deliver an extra £12 billion of investment in the rail network over the next five years. The Fund is part of radical Liberal Democrat proposals to move towards a 'carbon free' transport system.

Lib Dem Transport spokesperson on Cambridgeshire County Council, Councillor Judy Broadway, said:

"This is great news for local rail services and for those currently sitting in traffic on the clogged A14.

"Rail fares have continued to rise while overcrowding has increased and services worsened. The Government's rail white paper last month was vague and unambitious and proposed major price hikes for rail travel. At the same time motoring costs continue to fail. The Conservatives have nothing to offer our rail services - it was their botched privatisation that is largely responsible for the current combination of high fares and underinvestment.

"We would fund it by introducing a toll on road freight - charged to foreign and UK hauliers alike - and a charge on internal air flights."

"The Lib Dem plan announced today would double rail investment across Britain, not just improving existing services, but providing new ones. The Future Transport Fund we propose would provide ring-fenced funding for the improvements that we need if we are to cut our carbon emissions and tackle climate change."