Focus on the Tyne-Tees links
THE news that the Government is to encourage the reopening of railway lines closed under the auspices of Dr Beeching’s flawed analysis is to be welcomed. For a region that was hit especially badly by Beeching, hard cash to support this would be even better news.
There has been much attention paid to the idea of reintroducing passenger trains on the lines to Blyth and Ashington as these are a relatively easy fix, with tracks and other infrastructure still in use. Less frequently mentioned is another line that is currently used only by freight trains – the direct route from Durham to Stockton, which leaves the East Coast Main Line near Ferryhill.
Across the UK, where two major conurbations are within 50 or so miles of each other, they are almost invariably connected by fast and frequent train services: Glasgow and Edinburgh; Liverpool and Manchester; and Birmingham and the Potteries spring to mind. The exception to this rule is Tyneside and the central core of the Tees Valley, comprising Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar.
At present, should you wish to take a train between Newcastle and Middlesbrough or Stockton, it will most likely involve an hour’s journey that will include a wait on a cold platform at Darlington. The bit from Darlington will probably necessitate a grim ride on a dreaded Pacer train. Alternatively, you could catch a “direct” service, involving a scenic trundle along the coast that will take well over an hour. Using the direct route from Ferryhill would cut journey times to not much more than half an hour. Given that this could be done quickly, while only considering reopening or adding new stations on the route at a later date, it feels like a bit of a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, I suspect that there may be insufficient “paths” available on the busy East Coast line to permit a frequent service – which brings us back to the scandalous decline of the alternative route via Leamside since it was ‘mothballed’ some years ago.
I dream of a fast, efficient and comfortable shuttle between Tyne and Tees and the real economic benefits it could bring to the region. Sadly, I fear it may not happen in my lifetime! STAN ABBOTT Author, To Kill a Railway and The Line that Refused to Die Durham