Wickford could become the hub of a multi-million pound Essex-wide railway network linking the north and south of the county if an ambitious scheme proposed by transport campaigners gets the go-ahead.

Under the scheme, proposed by lobby group Transport 2000 in conjunction with the Railway Development Society, a new three mile stretch of track would be laid between Wickford and Benfleet to link the Great Eastern Railway and the LTS line.

The line would form part of a new rail link starting in Southend and passing through Benfleet, Wickford, Shenfield, Chelmsford and Braintree before terminating at Stansted.

The £60million plan was presented at a meeting held to discuss transport issues for inclusion in the Essex County Structure Plan.

Author Richard Pout sees the new line as a possible alternative to the A130 as a link between the north and the south of the county.

He said: "At the moment the county's railways are very much focused on London, with local links coming second in the pecking order.

"Basically we are saying rather than looking to spend however millions of pounds on the A130, we should be looking at alternative rail strategies.

"We think this proposal offers a lot to Essex."

The consortium is calling on Essex County Council and district councils to back the plan, and is hoping a feasibility study could be arranged.

The idea received a warm welcome from Cllr Tony Ball, chairman of the Wickford Area Committee: "I think it's a great idea. Anything that improves our public transport links has to be of benefit.

"One of the main problems in Wickford is infrastructure, including transport, and this would certainly help to alleviate those problems."

But Railtrack, the organisation responsible for the maintenance of Britain's railway network, has poured scorn on the suggestion.

Spokesman Lyndsey Thompson said: "It's a nice idea but it's only ever likely to exist in people's imaginations.

"The reality is there is an awful lot we have to do on the railways, a lot of money we want to spend getting the railway we already have up to the standards of the 21st century.

"Only then could we consider putting down new track. And even if we did build the line there's no guarantee that there would be a market for it.

"We have to face up to the harsh realities."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.