Paul Howell, the MP for Sedgefield has today released a statement about the third round of a bid for the Restoring your Railway Ideas Fund:
“So far 199 applications have been submitted across the country to the Restoring your Railway Ideas Fund and this is a very competitive process. Yesterday, there was news from 2 bids that were in the third round of competing for this fund. One of these bids was for upgrading of the Darlington to Weardale Railway which has been supported by various MPs within the North East. This application was approved for £50K for a feasibility study, unfortunately the bid for the reopening of the Leamside Line was not approved to go to the next stage. While yesterday brought mixed news in terms of the result for the Leamside Line and I’m disappointed that it didn’t go to the next stage there may be future opportunities to bid for this Line and I will be working closely with the Department for Transport to explore options.
“Ferryhill Station was previously approved in stage 2 of the feasibility study process and has been submitted and we are currently waiting for that to be assessed. The reopening of Ferryhill Station has been one of my highest priorities since I was elected, and I will continue to fight for its reopening.
“We do still have potential to see 2 projects in County Durham that will bring rail services back that were removed in the 1960s and reconnect those communities to education, employment and improved travel across the region.”
