Further pressure is being applied to the government to convince ministers to stump up at least £500m to improve a bottleneck railway junction which experts say is holding back the region's economy.
Reform leaders at Norfolk County Council have said they are continuing to lobby the government over a long-called-for upgrade to Ely rail junction, with the Cambridgeshire junction seen as key to the prosperity of Norfolk.
Upgrades for Ely North junction and Haughley junction, near Stowmarket, were announced by then prime minister Rishi Sunak in 2023.
But the Conservative government never put money for the projects in place and they were absent from schemes the Labour government confirmed it would spend some £700bn on last summer.
The Ely Junction is where five rail lines connecting Norwich, Ipswich, Cambridge, Peterborough and King’s Lynn meet.
Improving it is seen as crucial by politicians, business leaders and the rail industry itself, because it is currently operating at full capacity - preventing increased freight and passenger services.
When the Conservatives were in control of County Hall, they had lobbied for investment and, with Reform now running the authority after May's elections, senior councillors confirmed that they are continuing the fight to convince the government to pump in money.
The commitment came after Liberal Democrat county councillor Tim Adams asked, at a recent meeting of the council's Reform-led cabinet, if the authority still sees the upgrade as a regional strategic priority.
Tom Dickerson, Reform's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "Norfolk County Council has and continues to lobby government for the delivery of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements rail scheme and the associated improvements to the Haughley junction.
"These schemes are critical to remove significant bottlenecks stifling growth, improve reliability and resilience of existing services and allow more passenger and freight services to operate."
The last publicly released figure for the cost of the project was in January 2020, when the bill was estimated at £500m.
It is likely to have risen since, given the cost of materials and construction costs.
Last year, transport minister Lilian Greenwood said the business case for the improvements - seen as key to increasing freight and passenger travel in Norfolk - was "strong", but the government could not yet fund it.
She said the scheme was "in the pipeline of future rail enhancements and will be reconsidered as further funding becomes available".
Ms Greenwood also highlighted the complexities of the scheme, including the need to upgrade or close 44 level crossings, upgrading bridges, signalling and Ely station itself, as well as additional track.
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