A 300mph magnet-powered transport link between Newcastle and London could double Tyneside's economic clout, according to the North man driving the ambitious plan.

Dr Alan James, who lives in Wark, near Hexham, Norrthumberland, is the project leader of UK Ultraspeed, which wants to bring the magnetic levitating transport known as maglev, dreamed up in Germany and pioneered in China, to the UK.

The maglev's carriages float 1cm above a magnetic track and are driven along by a rolling wave of electricity. If developed in Britain maglev, which has been described as a cross between a train and a plane, would enable passengers to travel from Newcastle to London in 100 minutes and to Edinburgh in 40.

UK Ultraspeed has just completed an 18-month, £2m feasibility study, which has confirmed the link is commercially and technically viable.

And a Newcastle University study found a maglev link between Newcastle and London would double Tyneside's economic potential to 37.6%.