Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
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.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an environmental impact assessment of opening a proposed Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the timescale for opening the proposed Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
I understand that the Hon Member has supported a well-supported bid to the Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund for the reinstatement of the Leamside South railway line. The bid is currently being assessed and we expect to announce the outcomes in the summer.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an environmental impact assessment of (a) reopening the Leamside Line and (b) opening a Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
At this stage it is solely for the promoters of any bid to determine its scope.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the length of time it would take to (a) reopen the Leamside Line and (b) open a Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
At this stage it is solely for the promoters of any bid to determine its scope.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on congestion on the East Coast Mainline of (a) reopening the Leamside Line and (b) opening a proposed Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
At this stage it is solely for the promoters of any bid to determine its scope.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential economic benefits to the (a) North East and the (b) UK of (i) reopening the Leamside Line and (ii) opening a Leamside South line.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
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.
At this stage it is solely for the promoters of any bid to determine its scope.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what projects received funding from the Restoring Your Railway Fund.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The ten bidders for the first round of the Ideas Fund who have been successful in their application for funding to enable them to progress their proposals towards developing a business case, have been published on GOV.UK and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/re-opening-beeching-era-lines-and-stations/re-opening-beeching-era-lines-and-stations
The second round closed on 19 June and we received 50 bids which are listed in the link above.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to allocate additional financial support to local transport authorities as a result of lower passenger numbers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
On 3 April we made available to bus operators and local authorities up to £167 million of new funding over twelve weeks under the new Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant to keep key routes running. Another £30 million has also been reallocated to local authorities to safeguard bus services. This is on top of £3.2 billion of additional funding, the Government has announced to help local authorities respond to the immediate impacts of coronavirus.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) the North East Combined Authority and (b) other combined authorities without a mayor will be able to bid for funding from the £4.2 billion fund for local transport set out in Budget 2020.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
At Budget, Government announced its new £4.2 billion fund for local transport in eight city regions as part of its commitment to level up urban transport. Funding will be delivered through five-year, consolidated transport settlements agreed with central government and based on plans put forward by Mayors. In Tyne and Wear, funding will be conditional on the formation of a single Mayoral Combined Authority across the city region, to ensure accountability and effective delivery of funding, following the model that has worked for London. The details of how Government will take forward the settlement in Tyne and Wear will be set out in due course.
In addition, the whole of England will benefit from the largest ever programme of investment in strategic roads, the £2.5 billion Potholes Fund, and the Transforming Cities Fund. Further local transport funding will be set out at the Spending Review, including the £5 billion announced by the Prime Minister for buses and cycling.