Weardale trains may run into Darlington
THE Weardale Railway could see daily passenger trains running from Darlington thanks to its success in the latest round of the Department for Transport's Restoring Your Railways Fund.
A £50,000 grant will fund a study into the possibility of passenger trains from the heritage line's stations, both along the 31-mile rail corridor to Darlington and the wider national network.
The bid was made by Durham County Council in partnership with The Auckland Project, a regeneration charity aiming to make Bishop Auckland a major visitor draw and which, as reported in issue 266, bought the controlling 75% interest in the railway out of administration.
Its previous owner, British American Railway Services, was a subsidiary of Chicago-based Iowa Pacific Holdings, which went into receivership the year before.
The Auckland Project is behind the restoration of the reopened Auckland Castle and deer park and the creation of the nearby award-winning Kynren outdoor night show, which depicts moments from British history.
Proposals for the rail corridor could also include the offer of an hourly service between Darlington and Weardale, as well as a second shuttle service between Darlington and Bishop Auckland, allowing two services every hour from 2022.
The county council estimates that if the rail link is developed, an estimated 500,000 trips could be made on the line annually. Nearby communities would benefit from the new timetable, with additional heritage services introduced during the tourist season to support the estimated increase in visitors.
Further developments
The latest grant announcement comes in the wake of the success of the council's application for £20 million from the Government's Levelling Up Fund.
This funding has matched investment by the council and the Science Museum Group, which is enabling £31 million to be spent on delivering the A68 Toft Hill bypass, reopening Whorlton Bridge, and delivering a heritage corridor master plan, focussed on the Locomotion museum at Shildon and the heritage of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Not only will the feasibility study examine the extension of commuter services from Darlington from the current terminal at Bishop Auckland to Stanhope, but it will also the possibility of creating a ‘Crook Spur' to extend the line along the disused trackbed to the bottom of Crook via Howden-le-Wear, plus another extension further up Weardale along the old trackbed past Eastgate.
It will also investigate the potential for freight services and greater freight use of the line.
Coun Elizabeth Scott, the county council's cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “The Weardale Railway line is such a valuable part of the county's heritage and it is important that we are able to preserve this for future generations.
“A passenger service between Weardale and Darlington would not only support this, but would also allow even more people to experience and enjoy our rich heritage – a key aspect of our UK City of Culture 2025 bid.
“Furthermore, if we are able to directly link Weardale with the national rail network, we will be able to attract more visitors to County Durham and support ventures that will bring long-term benefits to our communities, such as greater access to education and employment.”
David Maddan, chief executive of The Auckland Project, said: “Our vision is to offer both heritage and passenger services on the whole line, providing improved access for communities and greater opportunities.
“The announcement is the first step to this, starting a period of intense planning. It will be a year before any changes will be implemented. And, in the meantime, we will continue the project to reopen heritage services in 2022.”
North West Durham Conservative MP Richard Holden added: “After years of poor connections, it's vital that we do what we can to level up the access for people in our area to education and employment opportunities right across the North East.”
Having previously said that it was the intention to run a limited Christmas service this year, the railway's management has said that while good progress had been made, it has not been possible to complete the necessary work in time and is now looking to restart in February.