Battle to reopen mothballed Sunderland railway line reaches Parliament

The battle to reopen a mothballed railway line has been discussed by Parliament.
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Transport campaigners across the North East are hoping to persuade the Government to include a pledge to fully reopen the Leamside Line – which closed to passenger traffic in 1964 as part of Dr Richard Beeching’s infamous cuts – in its upcoming Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).

They believe restoring the line in its entirety would trigger significant economic benefits for the region and potentially lead to an extension of Metro services to Washington.

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There are fears, however, that the Department for Transport (DfT) may only support a partial reopening known as Leamside South.

Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson overlooking part of the former Leamside Line on the edge of her constituency.Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson overlooking part of the former Leamside Line on the edge of her constituency.
Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson overlooking part of the former Leamside Line on the edge of her constituency.

Houghton and Sunderland South Labour MP Bridget Phillipson fears this second option would overlook Fence Houses for a station and has now tabled a series of written Parliamentary questions to rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris about the issue.

Among the questions she asked were whether the DfT had assessed the potential environmental impact and economic benefits of reopening the line and when either line option could be completed.

Mr Heaton-Harris, who has previously spoken of his desire to see the Leamside project “come to fruition”, provided a general response to all her points.

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It read: “The department received a bid to reinstate the Leamside Line (South of Tyne and Wearside) in the first round of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund.

"The bid was not successful at that stage and feedback was provided on how it could be improved.

“A further round of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund will open shortly and we expect to receive a stronger revised bid at that point.”

The Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund allows community groups, local authorities and MPs to bid for cash to develop business cases for reopening lines.

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Efforts to restore the Leamside Line, which would potentially link Sunderland, Washington and Durham by rail, are co-ordinated locally by the North East Joint Transport Committee, made up of council representatives from the region.

Ms Phillipson is also waiting for a response from Mr Heaton-Harris after writing to him “to set out why proceeding with Leamside South would be a short-sighted move and risks limiting our potential in the years to come”.

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