North East mayor Kim McGuinness has pledged £8.6M for the development of a business case to re-open the Leamside Line railway as part of the region’s Metro, which could provide spare capacity for the East Coast Main Line (ECML).
In 1948, the Leamside Line connected Pelaw in Gateshead with Washington, Fence Houses near Houghton le Spring, south to Leamside near West Rainton and then west to Durham. The mayor has now pledged to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro, run by Nexus, to Washington, as part of efforts to re-open the Leamside Line, and she said re-opening the line is a top priority for her. North East Combined Authority (Neca) said the northern section of the Leamside Line would be used to create the new extension to the Metro – known locally as the ‘Washington Metro Loop’.
Continue to full article: £8.6M pledged towards business case for reopening Leamside Line as part of Tyne Metro