from Nestle Purina, but was singled in March 1972 with the lifting of the down rails. Wisbech was left with no passenger service since 1968, and no railway connection at all since 2000. State of the route Wisbech East Station was lost to redevelopment following closure in 1968 and the station site was obliterated by a housing development in 2001. The track now ends at Weasenham Lane crossing following the tarmacing over of the rails from the level crossing in 2005. Beyond this point, the old Wisbech East Goods Yard (acquired by Nestle Purina from Railtrack in 1995) was last used in 2000. Three years after the last pet food train from Wisbech, the remaining three sidings were lifted. Most of the yard area now forms the factory and car park extension. The single track, owned by Network Rail, is still connected to the National Rail network via Whitemoor Junction near March but locked off. New signalling was installed at the junction during late 2007 for the benefit of outward-bound engineering trains from the re-opened Whitemoor Yard, once the second-biggest freight yard in Europe during World War II and now a stabling point for engineering trains. The railway's infrastructure, including the level crossings, remains largely in place. East of the former Wisbech East station site the trackbed has been built over meaning it would not be possible to reopen a through-line from March to Watlington without major demolition. Proposed reopening At a meeting in July 2020 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority voted to recommend plans for a service of two trains an hour between Wisbech, March, Ely, and Cambridge, and in March 2021 authorised £300,000 to prepare a detailed business case for Network Rail. If successful, it was suggested that works could be undertaken between 2024 and 2027, following works in development to improve capacity around Ely, with services beginning in 2028. A journey from Wisbech to Cambridge would take about 45 minutes. In a review response in 2022, Network Rail identified a number of areas which it said needed deeper consideration before proposals could be assessed further. In particular it highlighted that any Wisbech–Cambridge service plans would rely on train paths being available through Ely, without the proposals having considered whether this could be achieved. According to Network Rail even if its current proposals to increase capacity through the junctions at Ely gain government funding, which could increase the