A North East MP and Government minister says he is “really interested” in plans to reopen the Leamside Line – but will not commit to funding it yet.
Richard Holden, the Tory MP for North West Durham and the minister for local transport, has declined to match a Labour Party promise to restore the mothballed railway line. Restoring the disused route, which runs between Pelaw in Gateshead and Tursdale in County Durham, has been among the top aims of regional leaders for years and Labour’s shadow transport secretary confirmed last week that her party would deliver the project if in power.
Putting trains back on the Leamside Line would allow for a new loop of the Tyne and Wear Metro to be built, taking the network to Washington, and could also free up space to run more services on the congested East Coast Main Line. But concerns have been aired by Conservatives about the cost of the scheme, with the extension of the Metro alone costing an estimated £745m and only using part of the line.
