A near £750m plan to bring Metro services to Washington has been unveiled, bringing rail services to one of the UK’s largest unserved towns and a £90m economic boost to the region.
Transport North East has published a business case for the ‘Washington Metro Loop’, a restoration of part of the former Leamside Lane that would create a link between Sunderland and Pelaw with three new stations in Washington.
But the ambitious scheme depends on winning public funding and comes at a time when senior Ministers are signalling major cuts to public spending rather than big financial commitments, including likely scaling back of previous rail commitments.
Read more : Tyne Tunnel toll increase decision delayed
Politicians, business leaders and transport bosses in the North East say the scheme would generate huge economic benefits for the region, take hundreds of thousands of car journeys off the roads and provide links to major jobs sites.
Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon, who is chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said: "This is about persuading the Government to invest in the North East of England. I recognise that we're living through extremely difficult times to it's our job to make a compelling case for this to Government.
"It is £745m but it will generate £90m a year of economic growth in the North East and that's a strong argument."
The Washington Metro Loop is part of a larger scheme to restore the old Leamside Line through County Durham, Sunderland and Gateshead that is the main priority of transport bosses in the North East. Though hugely expensive, the Leamside line would improve rail services in the North East by providing an alternative to the clogged East Coast main line for freight trains and in the event of blockages.
The business case for the Metro extension has been costed at £745m, including stations at Follingsby, Washington North and Washington South, plus extra Metros to support the estimated 8m extra journeys the line will create. Washington is said to be the UK’s fourth largest town without access to a rail service, and business leaders have long joined the political calls for services to be extended to the town.
Washington and Sunderland West Sharon Hodgson MP said “I have championed the re-opening of the Leamside Line for over 17 years, so to see a new business case submitted to the Joint Transport Committee for a new Metro line connecting Gateshead, Washington and Sunderland is a huge step forward.
“Washington is the fourth largest town in the UK not to be connected to a rail network. The people of Washington and Sunderland deserve access to high quality transport to aid economic growth and job prosperity not only within Washington but also across the region. The new Washington Metro Loop will do just that, and I am delighted that we are one step closer to re-opening the Leamside Line in full.”
The moves have also been backed by Conservative MP for Sedgefield, Paul Howell, who said: “The total cost of delivering the new Washington Metro Loop is under 1% of the overall Integrated Rail Plan budget and the economic benefits for the region and our people is huge, making this plan one that is good value for money and one that the Government should strongly maintain its commitment to as part of delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail in full.
“I am committed to ensuring our ministers are fully appraised of the importance of the Leamside Line in the North East transport plan. To this end I spoke to the new Secretary of State on Wednesday and will be delivering copies of these proposals to him next week.”
John Marshall, chair of the North East of England Chamber of Commerce said “The re-opening of the Leamside Line, and in particular this second phase, is strategically important to the growth of new and existing businesses within the region. The Washington Metro Loop provides new business and local people with additional links to the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IMAP) and Follingsby Park as well as vital access to labour markets within the wider North East including the major development at Port of Tyne – a gateway for regional growth, development and transformation.”
READ NEXT:
* latest on £3bn North East devolution talks
