An MP has been left "quite bemused" about why a major rail junction upgrade still has not happened.

For 25 years campaigners have argued that improving Ely North Junction in Cambridgeshire would make it possible to run more freight and passenger services and help grow the local economy.

The local Liberal Democrat MP Charlotte Cane claimed "for every £1 spent [the project is] likely to bring back nearly £5", ahead of hosting a debate in Parliament on Wednesday.

A Department for Transport (DfT) spokesperson said it recognised the scheme's importance and fully anticipated Ely North "will be part of a pipeline of projects to be considered as part of future funding decisions". They added: "There is a strong case for Ely Junction, and we are committed to working with a broad range of stakeholders to support its inclusion in the future pipeline."

Lines from Norwich, Cambridge, King's Lynn, Peterborough and Ipswich all meet at Ely North junction.

The project has received the go-ahead from previous governments on at least two occasions, but the work is yet to start.

In 2020, it was revealed the cost of the project had risen from £25m to £500m, while complicated engineering and a slowness to make decisions have also been blamed.


Five rail lines from across the East of England converge at Ely North junction

Cane, the MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, said she was hoping Wednesday's debate would "get across the real importance of this project".

She said it would take freight off the roads and benefit not only the local area but also "the Midlands and further north".

"It's an amazing project... I'm still quite bemused as to why it hasn't happened yet," she told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

The DfT said when the previous Government announced Network North - of which this scheme was a part - it did not set out any plans for how to fund it.