(30 Jan 2024, 3:02 pm)54APhotography wrote Washington is the only feasible route, Penshaw, Washington South and Wardley are very good opportunities to grow. Heavy Rail would serve nowhere bar Ferryhill after Washington South, Stillington is not worth the expense of a station. If there was demand between Stockton and Ferryhill, Arriva would run something.
The region has been reliant on buses and personal transport largely since the early to mod sixties. My generation and the next had only arterial rail access. It is too late to try and develop South Durham for rail. The South Tyneside & Wearside loop makes sense for many reasons, one being greater utilisation of trains, and Wardley is a major player now, Metros each way would be ideal for Amazon workers.
It's not about the line itself though, it's about moving traffic off the East Coast Mainline to open new paths on there, you could even open paths for a local service on there so the likes of Chester Le Street, Saltwell, Birtley, Newton Hall etc. had a rail service which is more than the fields around South Hylton.
For the Leamside Line itself, there's much more to the South of there aswell, such as Houghton Le Spring, Penshaw, Shiney Row etc which is being ignored.
If you were really clever, you could also use the railway line as a catalyst for new development. We're desperate for new housing, if you built a station where that Rainton Meadows is then you could use those fields for new housing, they already have excellent road links being near the A1(M) and A690. Now you just need the transport side and it's sorted. It's a change from the usual where we build houses and then try to force some buses through.
Also, if you were really innovative, you could create a new Sunderland Parkway station, extend the green line from Sunderland through to there and get some intercity trains stopping, ie one Cross Country and maybe a TPE service so people travelling to Sunderland have intercity trains without doubling back via Newcastle.
There's so much more to the Leamside Line than the dead curve from Washington to Sunderland. Metro trains should be no-where near clogging those tracks up, going 50 mph - the only sensible more would be a short spur from Pelaw to Follingsby Park and extend the Pelaw peaks through (or run them all day).