Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of opening a proposed Leamside South line on congestion on the East Coast Mainline.

The Department received a bid for funding to develop proposals 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.

The third round of the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund closed on 5 March and a revised bid was received, which is currently undergoing assessment. We expect to announce outcomes in the Summer.

At this stage it is solely for the promoters of any bid to determine the scope of the assessments that would be carried out should they be successful. The proposal to reinstate the Leamside Line is also being examined by Transport for the North to inform the design of Northern Powerhouse Rail, and, as such, is being considered as part of the IRP. Its forthcoming publication will therefore inform the Department’s planning for the long-term future of both the East Coast Main Line and additional rail routes throughout the North East.