Plan for reopening of old railway link

Jan 21 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

TRANSPORT bosses are urging the Government to back a multi-million pound Tyne-Tees rail-link which could transform the region’s economy.

A new railway linking the North-East’s two city regions would cost more than £65m but would reduce the travel time to under an hour and generate new businesses along the route.

The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) and Metro operator Nexus have commissioned a report into the feasibility of reopening the Leamside line track which runs through Washington and Durham before joining the East Coast Main Line closer to Teesside.

Network Rail has given the plans the cold shoulder and the region’s transport groups have admitted there is “currently little chance of central government funding”. But an undeterred group of politicians and planners, including the North-East Assembly, Durham County Council and development agency One NorthEast, are determined to see the route reopened.

Their study shows the reopening of the Leamside line, closed in 1992, could lead to extra stations opening at Gateshead East, Washington North, Washington South, Penshaw and Fencehouses.

Trains could also call at Heworth and early estimates predict more than 2,000 customers a day would use the new line.

Extra costs would come from modifying stations in Teesside. PTA boss David Wood said the first step was to preserve the line.

He added: “We would love to get this back into operation to give people more choice and really link the region.

“We need to make sure that nothing is built on the line that would ruin the chance of using this track, so the immediate concern is to preserve this.

“From there we can go on to future lobbying to see if the Government can help provide the start-up costs for this.

“If they are serious about investing in transport, which I think they are, then this will one day be a working route. Our immediate concern is that this does not go the way of other rail lines and end up getting built over or broken up.

“We need to preserve this opportunity.”

While it is thought the cost of running the route could be recouped from ticket charges, the consortium has admitted that there would not be enough spare cash to pay back the initial start-up costs.

A report to go before PTA members on Thursday will warn of the task facing them.

It states: “The stance taken by the Department for Transport and Network Rail sits at odds with the need to develop realistic alternatives to car use in the context of growing demands for transport capacity in a low-carbon environment.

“The Leamside corridor is an irreplaceable resource in transport planning terms.

“Action must be taken soon before the physical condition of vital structures becomes such that they cannot be easily restored other than at a prohibitive cost.”

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