Transport for the North today (Jan 28) welcomed further news for the region on the use of the Government’s £500 million fund to reverse some of the famous ‘Beeching Cuts’ made 50 years ago when a third of Britain’s railway lines were axed from the national network.
A second round of funds for new stations and kick-start funding for two rail routes in the North were announced by the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps MP today, aligned to visits to Fleetwood and Poulton-le-Fylde in the North West and the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne line in the North East.
David Hoggarth, Strategic Rail Director for Transport for the North, said: “It’s great to hear that the Government is committed to funding better rail connections that will help level up regional economies – both these rail routes are in our long-term investment plan. Let’s be clear though, the Beeching Cuts took billions of pounds of value out of our national rail network and some communities have never recovered.” David said this was particularly true in the North of England meaning the region’s infrastructure has struggled with booming demand in rail travel in recent decades.
He added: “Funding for both these projects and for second round of the new stations is to be welcomed but there is so much more that needs to be done – including urgent work on projects like the Castlefield Corridor in Manchester. There is not a minute to be wasted. What we need to see now is a pipeline of investment of local schemes as well as larger programmes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2. This will deliver the benefits and the efficiencies that can only come with a steady stream of work spread across the region.”
Transport for the North has been supporting Northumberland County Council which is leading on plans to upgrade the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne line from freight to passenger use for several years. David said: “We have identified significant cost savings on this scheme which could really help revitalise a key part of the ‘energy coast’ identified in our Strategic Transport Plan.”
Similarly, in the North West kick-start funding for initial proposals for a disused railway line between Poulton-le-Fylde and Fleetwood could eventually breathe new life into communities which are recognised as facing challenging economic circumstances after years of under-investment.
“Both the £1.5 million for the rail route in the North East and the £100,000 of seed-funding for the route in the North West do represent some good news here in the North,” said David. “Our hope is this will just be the start of much greater investment streams to truly help reverse some of the damage that was done half a century ago.”
