North East makes the case for new rail line

Oct 19 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

A DOSSIER for high speed rail has been handed to transport ministers amid warnings a generation of new jobs could be lost if the Government overlooks the case for a line through Newcastle.

The cost to the region’s economy of not bringing high speed rail through the North East could be as much as £3.1bn, Government experts will today be told.

Leading figures from the region have prepared a North East-specific case as planners in London finalise their advice to the Government on which side of the country should be the first to benefit from the new rail route

Ministers will be told a high speed line through the region will have a bigger impact on closing the North South divide than the millions of pounds already spent through regional quangos.

But businesses have warned that if the Government decides to build a line travelling only through the North West to Scotland it will take with it any chance of closing the prosperity gap.

As a result, the North East could be condemned to another generation of low-paid jobs and an even greater dependency on the public sector.

The arguments for the new route have been compiled by the Association of North East Councils, where leader Mick Henry is heading up the region’s bid for investment.

Mr Henry, also leader of Gateshead Council, said the new line presented “opportunities for fundamentally changing the economic geography of the UK”.

His report challenges the prevailing view of other rail experts that an over-congested west coast must be the first to receive high speed trains.