Ely is a huge focal point for rail services across the region - it has been described as the "Crewe of East Anglia" because of the number of lines running into the station.

Look at the rail map. About a mile north of the station the line splits in three.

The cross country route heads north west to Peterborough, the King's Lynn route heads north and the eastern route heads towards Thetford and Norwich.

To the south of the station the "main line" heads south towards Cambridge while the cross country route heads east towards Ipswich and, for freight trains, Felixstowe docks.

Ely station is at the centre of rail routes in East Anglia. (Image: Network Rail)

Today's problem arises because both of these junctions were "rationalised" a generation or two ago when rail services were declining.

What now seems like a small amount of money was saved by reducing the amount of track - which now means there is no way further trains can be put over these routes.

The cross-country route north west from Ely is double track, but at Ely North junction both the Lynn line and the Norwich line become single track to join it - meaning the number of trains that can use it is seriously compromised.

That junction has been operating at capacity for years.

There is another huge problem at Ely........

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