(29 Oct 2013, 3:30 am)fozzovmurton wrote It is a debate done to death on another forum I post on, but thought I would bring it up here, what is peoples, opinion on the Leamside Line, should it be brought back to use...

My opinion is it should, especially for freight coming from Tyne Dock and as Nissan is close to the line that could become a way for moving it's gear, it would take traffic off the ECML and Durham Coast, it could even be opened up for passenger services between Tyneside and Teesside, and new Commuter Interchanges could be added at Washington and Durham(Belmont Park and Ride)...More localised services could be utilised for more direct services from Newcastle to Middlesbrough without having to goto Darlington or Hartlepool first, with the Stillington Branch being utilised to achieve this, it could also be a good diversion route for East Coast, XC, TPE or Northern when engineering is happening on the ECML or Durham Coast line...

what is you guys opinions

(29 Oct 2013, 9:11 am)fozzovmurton wrote Certainly a case to reopen for freight, by doing so could free up paths on the ECML all the way to Northallerton and also clear up the coast

(29 Oct 2013, 9:24 am)fozzovmurton wrote I never knew there was a spur from the Leamside to Durham, is that the route what once headed to Consett?

(21 Apr 2014, 10:37 pm)aureolin wrote Fences erected either side of the Victoria Viaduct. Such a shame. One of the local councillors seems to be in favour of it, citing the usual "health and safety" nonsense. I'm really for health and safety legislation, but yet again it's used as an excuse for something. People have been using it as a crossing between Fatfield and Penshaw since at least the mid-90s, and I can't recall anyone being hurt or falling off it.

What more, it looks like the fences have gone up without planning permission, which of course is required to modify the appearance of a Grade II* listed building.







Photos credit: Memories of Sunderland and Washington in pictures

(22 Apr 2014, 3:52 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Tis a shame and looks bloody awful too.

There have been incidents up there (witnessed some myself years ago) some as far back as the mid/late 90s and it was used as an area for kids to have a drink too.

(22 Apr 2014, 9:51 am)aureolin wrote It's always been used as a place for a drink. Mainly because the chances of the police coming up there were zero. I just think the fence has made it more dangerous, because people can potentially climb around it rather than over it, which obviously presents more risk than not having the fence there at all.

(22 Apr 2014, 11:20 pm)Half Pint wrote Having the Metro run to Penshaw then connect Penshaw - South Hylton you've got good feasible competition for the buses. The whole line would need new signalling and the track needed replaced anyway as sleepers, rails, pandrol clips etc all need replaced at sometime and Leamside's was past it's sell by date.

(23 Apr 2014, 6:35 pm)Michael wrote How about a link to Nissan to?

Could it work?

(23 Apr 2014, 6:43 pm)aureolin wrote I think that's what they're now looking at, according to the recent stuff. I guess the biggest issue would be a potential compulsory purchase order, to allow the track to branch off from the Leamside in towards Nissan. It runs quite close, but there's a few farmers fields in the way.

(23 Apr 2014, 6:35 pm)Michael wrote How about a link to Nissan to?

Could it work?

(24 Apr 2014, 8:21 pm)Half Pint wrote There's been talks about that for the last 3 years...

(17 Jan 2015, 12:22 pm)Andreos1 wrote When it was the centre of the NE and connected to the world!
http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/fencehouses/

The FPF would accept even half of what existed back then!

(29 Oct 2021, 9:05 am)Adrian wrote As predicted, another knock back for the project to reopen the Leamside line: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19680057.governments-rejects-study-reopening-leamside-line/, with the Government stating: "good potential in terms of transport and socio-economic benefits, the overall cost of the re-instatement (circa £600m) remains prohibitive”

As usual, there remains plenty of money when it comes to roads, with the A66 project for example being given £1 billion.

(29 Oct 2021, 9:23 am)Andreos1 wrote Inevitable and ultimately disappointing. 

However, if I was to play devils advocate here and pretend I was in charge of a local bus operator - I would be all over the report, the data within in, use it all and take advantage of it.
If the report states there are enough people for a train load of commuters, day trippers and whatever else - what could I do commercially with a bus?
What sort of service could I run along that corridor to take people to the places the train would have done?
What can I do to ensure that those socio-economic benefits fall in to my bus operators purse?
What can I do differently with my current network? What can I add to the current network? 
How can I take advantage of all of this free data that may not be worth an investment of £600m - but could be worth investing a few hundred grand of resource into?

Unfortunately, I've a feeling the bus operators mindset will be as closed as the governments...

(29 Oct 2021, 3:52 pm)Storx wrote Not sure why a bus company would want to look at that data. Rail and buses just aren't the same. It's not useful information so it'll just be skewed massively since there's a totally different demographic.

Car users will never move to a bus which takes longer than driving as it is from the likes of Washington as the bus will never be quicker and there's already the X1.

Buses are slow.
Cars are direct.
Trains are the quickest, as long as you happen to want to be where it goes.