Reinstate the Leamside Line for car transportation

Regarding Philip Haigh’s overview of proposed improvements in Tyne and Wear ( RAIL 832), I am surprised that nobody is suggesting the restoration and use of the Leamside Line for car transportation from Nissan at Sunderland.

This factory now produces well over 1,000 cars a day, hundreds of which are transported by road to Tyne Dock for storage and onward export (I believe these movements are a major factor in road traffic congestion in the area).

At its closest the Leamside Line runs within a few hundred metres of the vehicle storage compounds at Nissan, and less than 5km of line would need to be restored to enable a run through to Pelaw and the connection to the Sunderland line.

There would then need to be reversal to direct trains east toward Tyne Dock, but there are ample sidings at Pelaw (indeed, in recent years coal trains were reversed there, until the new east chord was implemented at Brockley Whins).

Reinstatement of this section would also make possible the building of a station in East Washington, and implementation of a fast passenger service from there to Newcastle. Mike Hughes, Tyne and Wear

Best use of Metro money

I am surprised at Philip Haigh’s suggestion that the overhead on the Metro to Sunderland be converted to 25V AC for the benefit of electric Virgin Trains East Coast services ( RAIL 832).

There is at present only one early morning Virgin service to Sunderland, with another promised later in the franchise. Many Sunderland people prefer instead to use the more frequent direct Grand Central service to London - this also serves Hartlepool and Eaglescliffe, which have no direct services to the capital.

It should be remembered that the Department for Transport, along with GNER (a previous franchisee on the East Coast route), vigorously opposed Grand Central’s proposed service on the grounds there was no need for a direct SunderlandLondon service.

Yet the Department included the option of a service from Sunderland in the franchise proposals, which Virgin took up to a limited extent.

The Department was clearly wrong in originally saying there was no demand for a direct service - or could it be that it wished to damage the open access operator Grand Central?

Converting the Sunderland route to AC, which would also involve new wiring between Gateshead and Pelaw, would be a complete waste of resources that would be better spent on extending the Metro to Washington and Doxford. Neil Sinclair, Sunderland

The Wight stuff?

Has anyone checked whether Tyne and Wear Metro units would fit the loading gauge of the Isle of Wight line?

They are a smaller loading gauge than main line, and are due for replacement in the next few years (assuming funding can be agreed). They are DC electrics, admittedly 15,000V DC overhead line rather than 630V DC third rail, but surely this could be overcome.

They have been recently refurbished, meet PRM TSI requirements, and with 90 units there would be plenty of spare parts to keep a few running for the next 40 years! Geoff Wade, Whitley Bay