The Department of Transport's plans to ban 'unnecessary' train announcements has been met with backlash from some of the North East's Labour MPs.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps declared on Friday that the Government is to review and remove train announcements that add surplus noise and disruption to journeys.
The announcement has been criticised as being "out of touch" and overlooking more pressing issues associated with train travel in the region.
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Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South said on twitter: "Many people in the North East don't have the luxury of hearing train announcements about bins or anything else.
"They don't have the luxury of any trains at all.
"And they won't as long as the government keeps saying "no" to reopening the Leamside Line."
The Government rejected plans to reinstate the Leamside railway line between County Durham and Pelaw in 2021, which MPs hoped would allow local trains to return to places like Washington for the first time in decades.
Labour's Catherine McKinnell, who represents Newcastle Upon Tyne North, had a more sarcastic response to the Department of Transport's plans.
She said: "Yes of course nobody will notice the stratospheric cost and inability to get across the North now they've scrapped Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Integrated Rail Plan, just as long as they clamp down on train announcements.
"The government is out of touch, out of ideas, out of road and now out of rail track too."
Ms McKinnell was referring to the huge scaling back of the Government’s promise to transform the North of England’s rail services in November 2021, which was branded a “hammer blow" for the region.
The Government scrapped the eastern leg of HS2 high speed rail line to Leeds and downgraded the inter-city Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project.
The scaling back of both HS2 and NPR means that journey times from Newcastle to London will be 11 minutes slower than had been planned under the previous proposals, while travelling from Newcastle to Birmingham will take a full 50 minutes longer than had been hoped.
Grant Shapps defended the decision to scrap surplus rail announcements, stating it will improve passenger experience and remove distractions from "important safety-critical messaging."
The Department of Transport said it will work closely with the Rail Delivery Group, passenger groups including Transport Focus and train operators, to identify how the vast number of announcements can be cut while maintaining vital obligations to ensure travel remains accessible for all.
They've stated that "messages that play a safety critical role, or ensure that railways are accessible for all, will remain."
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