MPs from across the political divide have made their case for the Government to fund an extension to the Tyne-Wear Metro which would connect Washington with Newcastle and Sunderland.
Washington is said to be the fourth largest town in the UK without a rail link. But the project to create the Washington Metro Loop will cost £745m, at a time when the Government is indicating it will cut public spending.
The Metro extension scheme, which forms part of a wider plan to reopen the Leamside Line connecting County Durham to Gateshead, does have support from Government MPs, including Conservative MP for Sedgefield, Paul Howell.
Read more: Plan for Washington Metro extension outlined - with big price tag
He 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.”
The proposed Washington Metro Loop would create a new station at Follingsby in Gateshead and two in Washington, connecting to the rest of the Tyne-Wear Metro network at Pelaw and South Hylton. There is also an option to create a link that would make it quicker to travel from South Tyneside to Sunderland, with a line between Tyne Dock and East Boldon.
What's happening with the Washington Metro extension?
Transport North East has published the first step of a business case seeking funding for a new Metro connection known as the Washington Metro Loop. Labour and Conservative MPs in the region are calling upon the Government to invest in the plan.
The plans published today say that extending the Metro to Washington would add a rail service to the fourth largest town in the UK without one. It would give 70,000 people access to trains to Newcastle, Newcastle International Airport and Sunderland, and allow them to connect to the national rail network.
What are the plans for a Metro extension to Washington and where will stations be?
A new station would be built at Follingsby in Gateshead and two in Washington , one in the north of the town and another in the south. It would create a new Metro connection from Pelaw to South Hylton via Washington. South Hylton would no longer be a terminus under the plans, as the Metro would be looped up to Pelaw via Washington.
The plan seeks to reopen the disused Leamside Line and forms part of a wider idea to add rail services down to Ferryhill, County Durham.
There is also a proposed add-on to create an extension between Tyne Dock and East Boldon, which would make Metro travel between South Shields and Sunderland significantly quicker as passengers would not have to go all the way to Pelaw to switch lines.
Precise station locations in the Follingsby area of Gateshead and two Washington have not been confirmed, but they will be on or close to where the Leamside Line ran. One of the aims of the project is to provide a Metro link to the International Advanced Manufacturing Park in Washington and Follingsby Park industrial estate where Amazon has a depot, so stations near those developments are likely.
However, the proposed new Metro map states: "All station locations are indicative and yet to be confirmed."
How much will would the Washington Metro Loop cost?
The business case forecasts that the new Washington Metro Loop will cost £745m to deliver, which includes additional new Metro trains to support extra services on the line. The cost equates to under 1% of the overall Government commitment to the Integrated Rail Plan for the North, which has a total cost of commitment of £96 billion across the UK.
What would the benefits of extending the Metro to Washington be?
Adding a Metro link with direct trains to Newcastle and Sunderland for Washington's 70,000 people would cut 1.7 million car trips and create nearly eight million additional Metro journeys every year, Transport North East's case says.
The business case also says it would add £90m a year in economic benefits to the North East.
What happens next?
The business case will now go to the North East Joint Transport Committee. There is a long way to go until it can be approved for funding from Westminster.
You may be feeling sceptical as there has long been talk of various projects to extend the Metro to different parts of the region, which have not materialised. Transport campaigners face a fight to secure cash from a central Government that is looking to scale back investment.
Journal editor Graeme Whitfield writes : "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."
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