Northern leaders react to 'vital' railway project being dropped by the government

A vital Durham railway project has been dropped from Government investment plans just 24 hours after it was announced by the Prime Minister.

North East mayor candidate Kim McGuinness has hit out after it emerged the Leamside Line will not now be guaranteed funding to reopen.

When Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that he would scrap plans for high speed rail trains to the North he claimed he could offset the economic damage by backing a list of local transport projects, with a Government issued list showing plans to reopen the Leamside line.

The document said: “The Leamside Line, closed in 1964, will also be reopened.” But by Thursday morning that reference had been removed from all official plans. It is believed there is now only a “commitment” to the aim.

Kim said: “The Leamside line was included in all the regional briefings to the media and politicians and within a day it had been deleted from their investment list. The Prime Minister’s promise to the North East barely lasted 24 hours – only a fool would trust Rishi Sunak again.

“But the Leamside announcement was always a scam the Government handed the region just £700m from the £36bn saved by scrapping HS2. You’d need more than £745m just for the cost of one part of the Leamside line that’s just the section linked to a new Metro loop.

“The Tories know this, they just didn’t think anyone in the North East would spot their latest scam. I’m fighting for a better North East, one where we don’t have to rely on transport conmen in London to decide what our region can and can’t have.”

John McCabe, chief executive, North East England Chamber of Commerce, added: “The government ran down the clock on HS2 over a number of years and it seems to have taken them just a matter of hours to do the same on the Leamside Line.

“Big, bold announcements made at party conferences are utterly meaningless if they aren’t backed up by fast action. The case for the Leamside Line is well known and has been strengthened by having cross-party support in the North East. I hope those who have long advocated for the Leamside Line will join us in continuing to do so until this essential piece of infrastructure is finally delivered.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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