West End could still get Metro link
WE SHOULD NOT DESERT PLANS FOR NEW RAIL LINK – FORBES
HOPES of opening a new rail link to Newcastle’s West End should not be abandoned in favour of a less ambitious plan, according to the city’s council leader.
Coun Nick Forbes has rejected suggestions that the idea of Metro services heading from Central Station on a reopened route along Scotswood Road may not be realistic.
Ambitions plans revealed in 2016 to expand Metro and rail routes across the region included proposals to use the original Newcastle to Carlisle railway line to introduce new services connecting the west of the city.
But with a new Metro fleet still years away and question marks over how such a scheme would be funded, Benwell and Scotswood councillor Rob Higgins asked the council leader on Tuesday whether a more “imaginative” solution to the West End’s transport issues should be explored.
He told an overview and scrutiny committee meeting: “In the long term I know that the Metro strategy is to have a Metro link into the West End.
“That is an aspiration, but is it a realistic aspiration?
“I wonder whether we are being a bit complacent with that as our long-term aspiration, when we should be a bit more proactive with more imaginative transport solutions in the West End.”
Coun Forbes responded that the council should “not give up on the idea of a rail link to the West End” and that he wants to see the route out of Central Station protected from future development projects in order to preserve the rail line.
Building developments in Gallowgate have greatly reduced any chance of extending the Metro west from St James’ Park.
The Labour leader added that new developments like the Newcastle Eagles’ new basketball arena in Elswick will increase the demand for better public transport.
He said: “As we start to see more developments we should be able to get the demand for some sort of transport link to link up those sites towards the Benwell and Scotswood area.”
Last week, the North East was shortlisted to win a share of the Government’s £840m Transforming Cities Fund, which could be used to kickstart major Metro improvements.
Coun Forbes said that, if the region’s bid is successful, much of that money would be spent on completing the huge amount of feasibility work required for any Metro expansion.
The first of a new £500m fleet of Metro trains is expected to be delivered in 2021 and rolled out over a two-year period. He also reiterated ambitions to reopen another rail link between Newcastle and Northumberland.