Trains struggle with capacity

OVERCROWDED trains are struggling to cope with increasing numbers of North East passengers.

That’s the stark warning from local council leaders as the number of people travelling by rail in the region increases.

Trains are full at peak hours, while passengers have to put up with slow services.

The warning was issued by the North East Combined Authority, which represents County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

And it was part of a bid from a range of bodies in the North for more transport funding.

Think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research North warned: “Successive governments have failed to invest in the North’s transport infrastructure and this has held back growth and employment.”

And Barry White, Chief Executive of transport authority Transport for the North, called for a total rethink of the way the Government allocates transport funding.

Traditionally, cash has gone where demand for transport is highest – which means London and the south east, which has a high population density.

But Mr White said the Government should pay more attention to the impact transport investment will have on long-term economic growth, which would mean improving services in the North.

The statements were delivered to the House of Commons Transport Committee, which is holding an inquiry into rail infrastructure investment.

Rail services in the North East are used by more than 14 million passengers a year, with eight million either arriving or leaving from Newcastle Central Station. Other key destinations include Durham, Sunderland, Morpeth, Alnwick and Hexham, the NECA said.

But the North East Combined Authority warned that local rail services are full.

In a written submission to the inquiry, it said: “The rail network is already at capacity during the peak hours in the area, journey times on certain routes are slow with low line speeds and on other routes there is not sufficient capacity for existing and future rail service.”

The Authority said the North East had received “minimal spending” in recent years, adding: “The current system cannot deliver the growth envisaged in the region.”

It welcomed promises of funding for a proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail network, though plans for this are still on the drawing board.

But it warned: “Investment in the rail network within the NECA area is needed to meet the areas ambitious growth targets. The network currently suffers from peak time congestion and a lack of available train paths on the mainline together with slow speeds and consequential journey times on other lines.”

The Institute for Public Policy Research North (IPPR North) highlighted its analysis of Government spending figures which concluded an average of £89 per person was spent on rail in the North East each year, compared to a UK average of £180. The figure for London was £582 per person each year.