(25 Nov 2020, 3:21 pm)Venturego wrote Richard Holden MP for Consett is tweeting: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer, today announced that the feasibility study for new link between Consett and The Tyne has got the go ahead!"

Wonder how this wil affect GNE services (X lines etc...) and possible extension of Tyne & Wear Metro ad zone pricing to the wider area?

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.54)]https://twitter.com/i/status/1331598510853140480[/color]

As much as he likes to harp on about a 'direct link' between Consett and Metrocentre, there really isn't that many large communities if the line went down the Derwent Walk. There's only really Shotley Bridge and Rowlands Gill which would benefit from stations. The rest of the line is decisively rural. Stations at Ebchester, High/Low Westwood, and Winlaton Mill are too far away from the villages they'll serve and I don't see the point of reopening the station at Lintz Green.

The most likely route will be the one closed in 1984 which is now the Sunderland - Consett cycleway which would probably see stations at Leadgate, Anfield Plain, Stanley, Beamish and Pelton before rejoining the ECML at Ouston Junction. That would serve the most communities and would probably see the most growth.

I've posted this elsewhere on the forum at some point but here, for those who might be interested, is a short video on 'The Last Train to Consett'.