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Rail minister confirms £1.5 million to accelerate
re-opening Ashington-Blyth-Tyne line for passengers, with
project at forefront of £500 million commitment to reversing
Beeching cuts
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Government invests £337 million to deliver new, modern
metro train fleet across Tyne and Wear
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Middlesbrough Station to receive £500,000 package to
drive forward proposed station upgrades
A major investment package into new trains, the re-opening of
closed routes and new upgrades for stations was unveiled by Rail
Minister in Newcastle (28
January 2020), with passengers across the north-east set to see
significant rail improvements.
The Department for Transport is investing £1.5 million in
Northumberland County Council’s project to re-open the
Ashington-Blyth-Tyne line to passenger services. Closed during
the Beeching cuts, this funding places the project at the front
of a new nationwide drive to re-open former rail
routes, through a £500 million government fund.
The fund is aimed at bringing back the rail connections needed to
level up access to opportunity across the country.
This announcement comes on the same day that Nexus, the operator
of the Tyne and Wear Metro, announces the manufacturer of their
new £362 million fleet. Backed by £337 million of government
funding, the new trains are set to transform journeys, providing
more comfortable seats and better information for millions of
passengers who use the network.
Middlesbrough Station could also see major redevelopment as the
government commits £250,000 of funding, matched by the Tees
Valley Combined Authority, to take forward upgrades to
Middlesbrough Station. This would enable the station to
accommodate more, and longer, trains, benefiting to the hundreds
of thousands of passengers who use the station every year.
Rail Minister said:
We are committed to reinvigorating rail connections across the
north-east, improving access to jobs, leisure and education
across the region.
Levelling up the north is a priority for this government. This
investment – to reconnect isolated communities, improve
stations and deliver new trains - shows that we are putting our
money where our mouth is.
The visit coincides with Transport Secretary visiting Fleetwood to
launch the government’s £500 million fund into reversing Beeching
closures across the country.
The cuts, which were initially proposed by British Rail chief Dr
Richard Beeching in 1963, ended passenger services on around a
third of the rail network, closing more than 2,300 stations and
up to 5,000 miles of track across the UK.
Visiting Poulton-le-Fylde line today (28 January 2020), which has
been closed to passengers for over 50 years, Mr Shapps set out
how the new investment will see long-isolated communities
benefitting from better rail connections.
To launch the reversal scheme, the government is also announcing
£1.5 million of funding for the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line in
Northumberland, the Fleetwood line in Lancashire, and an Ideas
Fund.
Transport Secretary said:
Many communities still live with the scars that came from the
closure of their local railway more than five decades ago.
Today sees work begin to undo the damage of the Beeching cuts
by restoring local railways and stations to their former glory.
Investing in transport links is essential to levelling up
access to opportunities across the country, ensuring our
regions are better connected, local economies flourish and more
than half a century of isolation is undone.
Recognising that not all growing towns can re-open previously
existing stations, and that some areas may never have been served
by rail, the government is also announcing a fresh round of the
New Stations Fund.
Two previous rounds of the scheme have already helped develop 10
brand new stations across England and Wales. The new round will
be allocated £20 million.
The Transport Secretary has invited MPs, local authorities and
community groups across England to come forward with proposals on
how they could use funding to reinstate axed local services.
£300,000 has been committed to an ‘Ideas Fund’ to kickstart the
process and encourage innovative ideas that will then be
considered for further funding in the future.
