Sharon Hodgson MP: Northern Powerhouse Rail is a huge win for the North East and will be transformative for thousands.
For too long, the North has been held back by a second-class rail network. This Labour Government is changing that. Since first being elected as an MP in 2005, I have campaigned for the full reopening of the Leamside Line, a 21-mile disused railway line running from Pelaw in Gateshead to Ferryhill in County Durham. Reopening the line would be vastly beneficial for travellers across our region and free up more capacity on the congested East Coast Main Line between York and Newcastle.
I’m proud that my constituency is home to so many high-skilled, unionised manufacturing jobs and extending transport networks will make it easier for people to commute to and from work. As well as this, rail connectivity ensures that people can travel for education, to see friends and family, and to support businesses in our town centres.
I also support this Government’s bold plan to transition to net-zero and sustainable green public transport is an integral part of this. It is fitting that the Leamside Line, which was so key to our region’s industrial growth, will now spearhead its green revolution as we accelerate the sustainable transition.
Funding was announced for reopening the first phase of the line in the funding review last year, which will allow for the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington. Now, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail initiative, further development work on the full line is set to progress, providing rail links for over 100,000 people across our region.
I am so pleased that the Government, along with the Mayor of the North East Kim McGuinness, have been able to announce that the north of England will finally get the transport links we deserve with modern, electrified services which will be transformational for so many people in the area.
This is just one part of a £45 billion commitment to upgrading transport links across the north of England, finally connecting our great northern towns and cities to each other with more regular and reliable services.
Northern Powerhouse Rail is about so much more than trains: it's about growth.
Where talent and potential are spread equally across our country, for too long opportunities have not been. Improved connectivity means improved opportunities and jobs, and this Labour Government believes that raising productivity in our key northern cities will bring success for the whole of the UK, generating up to £40 billion a year in additional Gross Value Added annually.
For too long our area has been let down by governments promising the earth and delivering nothing. I am so pleased that this Labour Government is putting its money where its mouth is and backing Northern communities to release our full potential.
Read this article in the Sunderland Echo.