(26 Nov 2020, 9:45 am)Economic505 wrote It’s a sop to those ex Labour voters that helped elect him. If it does happen, I ll be later this century.

As much as I'd like to see it happen (and hope it does happen), I don't think it will happen anytime soon. It's an undeliverable empty promise which, politically, serves Richard Holden very well. In the eyes of voters, he will be seen as someone trying to be a champion of bringing prosperity to the area and, if (or when) he fails, he can easily blame a myriad of factors, some of which will undoubtedly be the fault of local Labour councillors at County Hall. 

As for how will a rail-link to Consett affect the likes of Go North East, I don't think it will that much bearing, to be honest. Rail fares are usually higher and unless the route is electrified with high-line speeds, the time savings are marginal outside of the morning and afternoon rush-hours. On that video I posted, I think the journey is timed at around 40 minutes non-stop. I think the GNE advertise their journeys at around 60 minutes. So I think the journey time of the train would have to remain at around 40 minutes with stops to convince people to a pay a premium for the rail service.