Halt this journey on road to ruin

Nov 28 2005 By Ross Smith, The Journal

Study wants more commuter trains

A new study into rail in the North-East will call for a step-up in commuter services to Tyneside.

The report, which will be published next month, recommends an increase in trains and calls at stations along the Tyne Valley line.

The study was commissioned by public transport group Nexus, Northumberland County Council, and the Tyne Valley Rail Users Group.

It runs counter to a Department for Transport plan, revealed by The Journal on Saturday, which recommends cutting services on the line.

The study will call for more trains to stop at Prudhoe and Haydon Bridge, and extra peak-time services for Hexham and the MetroCentre. It also wants more frequent services for Bardon Mill, Brampton and Wetheral, and extra late night trains between Hexham and Newcastle on Saturdays.

And the study says links across Newcastle to Middlesbrough and Morpeth should be kept.

The authors believe better marketing can encourage more people to use rail.

However, the Department for Transport's regional planning assessment says rail cannot compete with cars and recommends closing "lightly used" stations on the line. The same department says too many North-East drivers are using main roads in the region.