Tag: Department for Transport

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 23 March 2023.

The new law is designed to protect those working on vessels operating an international service from being paid less than the National Minimum Wage.

Thousands of seafarers regularly entering UK waters should enjoy better pay protections, as the government continues to boost rights and working conditions while preventing firms from using legal loopholes to pay low wages.

The Seafarers’ Wages Act received Royal Assent today (23 March 2023) and is now law.

As a key strand of the government’s 9-point plan for seafarers, the new law is designed to protect those working on vessels operating an international service from being paid less than the National Minimum Wage.

The law change will also require authorities to charge operators of vessels who do not provide evidence they’re paying their seafarers the equivalent to National Minimum Wage and to refuse harbour access to those who continue to fail to comply.

Last year, P&O Ferries shamelessly sacked nearly 800 staff without notice or consultation. The UK government has acted swiftly to progress its 9-point plan in response to this disgraceful behaviour and remains committed to seafarers as a priority, both domestically and internationally.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

Our maritime sector is world-leading. That’s down to the thousands of hardworking seafarers working tirelessly to maintain supply chains and transport passengers safely across our waters.

These workers deserve a fair wage and I’m therefore delighted to see our Seafarers’ Wages Act become law, helping improve pay and protect seafarers from exploitation.

The government continues to engage with the UK’s near European neighbours to protect seafarers’ welfare and pay, and explore the creation of minimum wage equivalent corridors in our respective territorial waters.

Earlier this month, during the UK-France summit in Paris, the Transport Secretary met his French counterpart Clément Beaune, with both nations pledging to continue working together to improve conditions for those working in the Channel and to protect them from exploitation.

The government is also taking action against rogue employers using controversial ‘fire and rehire’ practices, consulting on plans for a Statutory Code of Practice.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 22 March 2023.

Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has appointed a new Traffic Commissioner and two new Deputy Traffic Commissioners.

Miles Dorrington has been acting Traffic Commissioner in the West Midlands Traffic Area, since the retirement of his predecessor, Nick Denton, in June 2022. He will now be deployed as the permanent Traffic Commissioner.

The Senior Traffic Commissioner, Richard Turfitt, said of his appointment “I am delighted that Miles has been appointed as a permanent member to the traffic commissioner team. He brings with him significant experience of this jurisdiction from many years as a Deputy Traffic Commissioner, and as a tribunal judge in other jurisdictions.”

In addition, the Secretary of State has appointed two new Deputy Traffic Commissioners to support the Traffic Commissioners. Catherine Moxon and Dr Paul Stookes come into the role with valuable legal experience.

Catherine is a barrister with experience in both criminal and civil practice. She now specialises in regulatory law. She sits in the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service and chairs the School Admission and School Exclusion Panels.

Paul is a solicitor-advocate with over 25 years’ experience in public, civil and criminal law. Paul works as a law and policy advisor to the UK Environmental Law Association, and is a lead assessor for the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment full membership programme.

Catherine will be deployed in the north of England and Paul in the Southeast of England.

Richard Turfitt said of the appointments “Catherine and Paul will strengthen the team of full time and part time commissioners, providing invaluable support and experience. I genuinely look forward to working with them.”

The role of the traffic commissioners

Traffic commissioners are responsible for the licensing and regulation of bus, coach and goods vehicle operators, and registration of local bus services. Where appropriate, they can call operators to a public inquiry to examine concerns about vehicle and driver safety.

They also deal with professional drivers at conduct hearings.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 21 March 2023.

Derby has been selected to become the home of Great British Railways, delivering high-skilled jobs to the region.

Derby has been named as the national headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR HQ), marking a key milestone in the government’s plan to reform the nation’s railways.

As Europe’s largest rail hub, Derby will soon become the heart of Great Britain’s rail industry too, bringing track and train together and delivering high-skilled jobs to a city already brimming with the best talent in the industry.

Derby came top of all 6 excellent locations in both the rigorous assessment process and the public vote. Their application demonstrated strong links to the wider network, well-established connections with the industry, supply chain and customers, as well as an extensive local cluster of private sector rail businesses.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:

It’s full steam ahead for the reform of our railways and today’s announcement is not only a huge win for the brilliant city of Derby, but a key milestone for the entire rail industry across the country.

Great British Railways will put the passenger first, promoting collaboration and innovation across a joined-up, efficient and modern network.

Councillor Chris Poulter, Leader of Derby City Council, said:

We’re absolutely thrilled that Derby has been selected to become the home of Great British Railways. This result is a testament to the hard work of our team, alongside our key rail and city partners based across Derby – we couldn’t have done it without them.

Rail heritage is at the heart of our city and for this to be recognised by government is a fantastic achievement. The investment we’ll see from this significant move will be huge, not only just for Derby but for levelling up across the whole of the wider East Midlands.

We have a rich history of being the only city in the UK to have manufactured rolling stock continuously since 1840, so I’m thrilled that Derby’s heritage is being recognised in this defining way. We can’t wait to see what this momentous move will mean for Derby and its citizens in the future.

While Great British Railway’s headquarters will be in Derby, other towns and cities across Britain, potentially including the 5 shortlisted cities, will still benefit, becoming powered up regional GBR hubs equipped with local decision making, and investment powers aimed at benefiting their local communities and further creating jobs in the locations they serve.

GBR will also have roles spanning across Great Britain including the North, South East, South West and London, with the HQ driving collaboration and innovation across the sector.

The government is working closely and collaboratively with the Great British Transition Team to co-design the future of our railways. Passengers and freight customers will be GBR’s key priority, the new body will also take control of the industry’s finances to drive efficiency and work with the private sector to deliver for customers.

Great British Railways will be locally led and will harness the potential of the private sector locally, regionally and nationally.

Anit Chandarana, Lead Director, Great British Railways Transition Team, added:

The announcement that Derby will be the home of the Great British Railways headquarters is another important milestone on our journey to create a simpler and better railway for everyone in Britain.

Although Derby will be the home of our headquarters, Great British Railways will also introduce empowered regional centres, to bring decision making and leadership much closer to local customers and communities.

The Transition Team is continuing to work with government and the wider rail industry to deliver this much needed reform and we look forward to working with colleagues in Derby in the coming months, too.

GBR’s Transition Team will now work with Derby to identify the site for the HQ within the city.

The Midlands is already a transport supercluster for Britain: with the Department for Transport and HS2 already having bases in Birmingham, bringing GBR’s HQ to Derby will be a further boost to the region’s transport sector and demonstrate our commitment to levelling up Great Britain.

Today’s (21 March 2023) announcement follows on from the Transport Secretary’s George Bradshaw Address last month where he set out the government’s long-term vision for the future of the railways. Last month’s announcements included:

• the expansion of single leg pricing across the LNER network and demand-based pricing to ensure passenger demand is more evenly spread between services.
• an extension to pay-as-you-go ticketing in south-east England.
• creating a dedicated strategic freight unit tasked with setting a long-term freight growth target this year.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 21 March 2023.

Announcing the Bus Centre of Excellence and almost £3 million electric bus funding for Leicester.

A new initiative to upskill, recruit and retain a new generation of bus professionals, alongside support to help our bus sector get stronger, has been announced by the Roads Minister Richard Holden today (21 March 2023).

Backed by £815,000 in government investment, the new Bus Centre of Excellence will bring together expertise from local government, bus operators and industry to boost skills and diversity in the bus sector.

As pledged in the government’s National Bus Strategy, the new Bus Centre of Excellence will give life to a new generation of bus professionals to drive forward more reliable, affordable and cleaner bus services. Hosted by the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, it will provide training opportunities, direct access to resources and industry experts, as well as networking events to uplift the capacity and capability of the whole sector, working to encourage people to get back on the bus.

The Bus Centre of Excellence’s ambitions will complement the continued decarbonisation of the national bus fleet, improving the whole passenger experience, and today’s announcement comes as the government confirms £3 million for 18 brand new zero emission buses in Leicester. The new buses will be manufactured in Northern Ireland by Wrightbus and operated by First Bus, supporting hundreds of high-skilled jobs and helping to grow the economy.

This latest investment means all diesel buses at the operator First Bus’s depot in Leicester will now be replaced with 86 electric buses funded by the Zero Emission Buses Regional Areas (ZEBRA), making Leicester home to one of the first bus depots in the UK to transition to fully electric. In total Leicester has benefitted from nearly £22 million funding from the ZEBRA scheme to support 114 electric buses.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

Buses are the backbone of our transport network, providing affordable travel for commuters, families, and pensioners, and providing an economic lifeline for towns and cities around the country.

This multimillion investment for Leicester’s clean transformation, coupled with the new Bus Centre of Excellence, will help drive the country’s bus sector recovery and provide passengers with cleaner, more affordable buses that run on time.

Zero emission buses are often cheaper to run, improving the economics for bus operators, and are more reliable, reducing repair costs and minimising delays.

The new ZEBs for Leicester build on the success of the existing ZEBRA scheme, which was launched in 2021 to allow local transport authorities to bid for funding for ZEBs zero emission buses and supporting infrastructure.

The move brings total government funding from the ZEBRA scheme to almost £300 million for up to 1,400 zero emission buses in England, taking the vision of a net zero transport network one step closer to reality.

Neil Johnstone, President, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, said:

CIHT has a proven track record of delivering high quality continuing professional development for those working in the transportation sector. We are delighted to be the chosen partner to help work on improving this important sustainable transport mode.

This partnership (alongside other government initiatives) will see CIHT help to bring together a wide range of professional skills and knowledge from both the public and private sector to facilitate change to local infrastructure, service delivery and the sector across the country – with the ultimate aim of improving bus services.

Janette Bell, Managing Director at First Bus, said:

We’re absolutely delighted that Leicester will become one of our blueprint bus depots of the future, helping us to refine and iterate this new concept so we can roll it out across the rest of the UK. At First Bus, we’re continuing to trailblaze with our partners to ensure we meet our net zero targets, supported by co-funding from the Department for Transport.

As leaders in sustainable mobility, we are fully aligned with the government’s ambitions for a net zero carbon transport system. Through this co-funding with the ZEBRA scheme, we’re excited to electrify another 5 of our UK depots before March 2024, and look forward to introducing even more electric buses to our constantly growing fleet.

We cannot wait to see our customers’ reactions once the project is complete, as we know the difference this will make to the city. Electric really is the future and we’re glad we can take our customers on this journey with us.

The new Bus Centre of Excellence initiative follows the £155 million announced last month to continue supporting bus services up and down the country and providing affordable journeys by extending the popular £2 bus fare cap.

This brings the total government funding to protect buses at over £2 billion since the pandemic, with a further £1 billion invested to improve the quality of bus services through the Bus Service Improvement Plans.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 20 March 2023.

Avanti West Coast contract extended with further work to restore reliability and punctuality to come.

The Department for Transport has today (20 March 2023) extended Avanti West Coast’s contract for a further 6 months after significant improvements have been made since October.

This decision comes almost 6 months after the operator was initially put on a short-term contract by the government and ordered to develop a recovery plan aimed at addressing poor performance on vital West Coast Main Line routes, including between Manchester, Birmingham and London.

Shortly after being placed on this contract, the Transport Secretary travelled to Manchester to meet with stakeholders to further understand what could be done to address the situation and improve services. This led to the decision to introduce a recovery timetable which has significantly reduced reliance on overtime working and has seen services increase from 180 trains per day to 264 on weekdays – the highest level in over 2 years.

Since the introduction of this timetable on 11 December, Avanti West Coast has seen very significant improvements across services including:

• weekday services have risen to the highest level in over 2 years
• reducing cancellations from nearly 25% of the service in August 2022, to 4.2% in early March 2023 – the lowest in over 12 months
• 90% of trains now arriving within 15 minutes of the booked time
• over 100 additional drivers have been recruited, reducing reliance on union-controlled overtime working

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:

The routes Avanti West Coast run are absolutely vital, and I fully understand the frustrations passengers felt at the completely unacceptable services seen last Autumn. Following our intervention, Rail Minister Huw Merriman and I have worked closely with local leaders to put a robust plan in place, which I’m glad to see is working.

However, there is still more work to be done to bring services up to the standards we expect, which is why over this next 6 months further improvements will need to be made by Avanti West Coast.

Although Avanti West Coast has made significant progress in the past 6 months, further work needs to be done to restore reliability and punctuality to the standards that passengers rightly expect. This will include delivering more reliable weekend services, continued reductions in cancellations and improvements in passenger information during planned and unplanned disruption.

The 6-month contract was initially introduced after major operational issues primarily caused by a shortage of available drivers and a ban on rest day and overtime working. Last July, drivers for Avanti West Coast, who overwhelmingly belong to the ASLEF union, simultaneously and with no warning stopped volunteering to work overtime.

To help address this, the government continues to support the industry – including through setting a mandate – as they negotiate with unions to ensure we can take forward much-needed reform, including introducing a reliable 7 day a week service to secure the future of our railways.

The Transpennine Express contract expires on 28 May and will be considered separately with a further announcement in due course.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 17 March 2023.

In a recent public inquiry before Deputy Traffic Commissioner Nick Denton, Kevin Griggs had his operator’s licence revoked, and was prohibited from holding such a licence for at least twelve months and had his vocational driving licence suspended for the same amount of time.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 14 March 2023.

Announcing a consultation on an updated national networks national policy statement (NNNPS) for developers of new road, rail and rail freight schemes.

An updated framework with measures to protect the environment in new major road, rail, and rail freight schemes has been unveiled by the government today (14 March 2023).

The framework has been updated to reflect legislation set out in the Environment Act, which requires developers to recognise new environmental targets and sets out further details on biodiversity net gains. The new framework also recognises the proposed environmental outcome reports, allowing the government to set clear and tangible environmental outcomes against which transport schemes are assessed.

A consultation has been launched on an updated national networks national policy statement (NNNPS) with measures to require developers of new road, rail and rail freight schemes to show how they meet environmental targets, consider biodiversity net gains and the impact of their proposals on carbon emissions.

Roads and rail are a critical part of the transport network in facilitating connectivity and boosting economic links. The government is committed to continuing to develop these networks, while protecting the environment, strengthening connectivity and growing the economy.

The consultation is seeking views on an updated framework used by developers and the government when developing major road, rail and freight schemes.

Transport Minister Richard Holden said:

Transport has a vital role to play in levelling up our country, connecting people with good jobs and education opportunities across our cities, town and villages and in growing the economy.

This new framework is part of our mission to build a more sustainable transport system which protects our wonderful English countryside and wildlife while delivering opportunity by levelling up our transport network across the country.

The updated framework supports plans recently set out by the government to ensure the planning system can speed up the delivery of major infrastructure by making the system greener, faster and more resilient.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks until 6 June 2023.

The government has also announced that the framework used to assess major port development proposals is being reviewed to ensure that it reflects the issues facing ports today.

The national policy statement for ports (NPSP) was designated in 2012, and will now be reviewed by the Transport Secretary in light of more recent trends in port freight traffic, and a range of institutional changes and evolution of wider policy, notably in the environmental sphere.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 9 March 2023.

Over £40 billion will be invested in transformational transport schemes over the next 2 financial years across the country.

The Transport Secretary has today (9 March 2023) ensured record funding is invested in the country’s transport network, sustainably driving growth across the country while managing the pressures of inflation.

As part of the government’s largest capital programme commitment ever, over £40 billion will be invested in transformational transport schemes over the next 2 financial years across the country, helping to level up local communities and deliver on one of the government’s 5 priorities to grow the economy.

This includes a continued investment in delivering HS2, which will grow local economies, provide a green transport solution and train a skilled construction workforce, as well as almost £8 billion in investment over the next 2 years in major roads – the nation’s economic arteries, which support the bulk of passenger journeys.

With over £20 billion spent on Phase One already, the government will prioritise delivering the opening stage of HS2, with the first high-speed rail services running between new stations at Old Oak Common in west London and Curzon Street in Birmingham by the early 2030s. This will be transformative for passengers and communities, ensuring that the earliest benefits of HS2 are retained – creating jobs, attracting investment and sparking housing and commercial regeneration along and beyond the route.

The government also remains fully committed to delivering HS2 from Euston to Manchester. However, in recognition of inflationary pressures and to help balance the nation’s books, the next 2 years will be used to rephase construction and optimise future delivery of Phase 2a between Birmingham and Crewe so this is done in the most cost-effective way. This aims to deliver high-speed services to Crewe and the North West as soon as possible after accounting for the rephasing of construction.

At the same time, the government will take the time to ensure an affordable and deliverable design at Euston, with a view to delivering the station alongside high-speed infrastructure to Manchester, while the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill continues through Parliament.

Work continues on progressing commitments made in the Integrated Rail Plan to develop HS2 East, the proposed route for HS2 services between the West and East Midlands, and to consider the most effective way to take HS2 trains to Leeds.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

We know the power of transport as an engine for sustainable economic growth. That’s why – even in this tough economic climate – this government sees transport investment as a down payment on the country’s future and is committing £20 billion over each of the next 2 years to improve the UK’s transport network.

But we can’t ignore the current realities. Putin’s war in Ukraine has hiked up inflation, sending supply chain costs rocketing. The responsible decisions I’ve outlined today will ensure we balance the budget at the same time as investing record sums in our transport network to help halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt.

Despite the government’s record £40 billion investment, there are challenging economic headwinds following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and supply chain disruption as the global economy recovers from the pandemic, which have made project delivery difficult.

This means the government has had to take tough decisions on what can be achieved within original timeframes.

The A27 Arundel Bypass and A5036 Port of Liverpool Access in the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS 2) both face a range of challenges including environmental considerations and ongoing design changes, and so will be developed in RIS 3 (covering 2025-2030) to allow time to ensure stakeholders’ views are fully considered. The schemes earmarked for RIS3 (2025-30) will continue to be developed and considered for inclusion within RIS 4, which will run from 2030-2035. Given many of these schemes were previously expected towards the end of RIS 3, this extra time will help ensure better planned and efficient schemes can be deployed more effectively.

As one of the largest planning applications ever, the Lower Thames Crossing, backed by £800 million to date, will also be slowed down by 2 years. This will allow more time to take into account stakeholder views and prepare an effective and deliverable plan, while helping to meet inflationary pressures and deliver the planning processes properly.

The government is committed to supporting all forms of transport and is investing more than £3 billion into active travel up to 2025, despite the efficiency savings needed due to global financial pressures. This includes existing funding for active travel schemes such as through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) and National Highways to level up access to active travel across the country. The department will invest at least £100 million across the remainder of the Spending Review period – for 2023/24 and 2024/25. This will be on top of an expected £850 million investment up to 2022/23.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 9 March 2023.

Planned work will reduce congestion, improve air quality and provide faster local journeys in Britain’s ‘rural capital of food’.

Residents and tourists in Melton Mowbray and Leicestershire will benefit from more than £49 million in government investment to reduce congestion, improve air quality and provide faster local journeys, the Roads Minister Richard Holden announced today (9 March 2023).

The new road scheme – part of a £115.2 million total investment between the government, local council and private investors – will help unlock the full potential of Britain’s ‘rural capital of food’, stamping out ‘rat running’ car and lorry traffic from Melton Mowbray and making it easier for residents and tourists to access its historic town centre.

With the town famous for its Melton Mowbray pork pie heritage – a protected status – the project will generate an estimated £144 million in economic opportunities by boosting local tourism and supporting over 3,400 new jobs. This will help level up local communities and deliver on one of the government’s 5 priorities to grow the economy.

The scheme consists of a single carriageway road and extends from the A606 Nottingham Road at the north-western edge of the town to the A606 Burton Road in the south, crossing Scalford Road, Melton Spinney Road, A607 Thorpe Road and B676 Saxby Road to Burton Road.

Roads Minister Richard Holden said:

For too many years, Melton has been plagued by disruptive and polluting traffic congestion which has made it difficult to reach its historic town centre, grow our economy, and savour its delicious pork pies and Stilton cheese.

That’s why we’re investing nearly £50 million to boost local connectivity and tackle congestion, supporting more than 3,400 jobs to help Britain’s ‘Rural Capital of Food’ truly reach its full potential.

Melton Mowbray’s historic town centre network is at the convergence of 6 major routes and sees some of the highest congestion levels on a per mile basis in Leicestershire, mainly because of a high number of heavy lorries passing through the town centre.

The new road will take traffic away from the town centre, allowing residents and tourists to visit Melton’s celebrated Market Place more easily while boosting local air quality and connectivity.

The project will pave the way for better active travel opportunities by providing a 3m wide combined cycle and footway along almost all of the scheme’s length. It will also improve bus punctuality by taking lorries and heavy traffic away from the town centre.

As local authorities predict growing demand for travel into Melton Mowbray, local traffic congestion is expected to increase which could seriously affect the attractiveness of the town to tourists and hamper economic growth.

This scheme is just one part of a wider transport strategy for the town which will include other measures to address localised traffic issues, public transport improvements, as well as walking and cycling connectivity.

The new single carriageway road will be funded by £49.5 million in government investment, alongside £51.7 million by Leicestershire County Council and £14 million by private funding.

Councillor Deborah Taylor, deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council, said:

Shorter journey times and reliability are absolutely crucial in securing new business investment, and this new road is vital to support the future growth of the Melton economy.

I’m very pleased that, by approving our full business case, the government recognises the importance of this road with the award of this hugely significant funding.

We’re delighted to welcome the Minister to Leicestershire and we can now look forward to the major construction work starting in the next few weeks.

With the opening scheduled for Summer 2025, the project will create new junctions with the radials on its route and provide crossings over the railway line and the River Eye.

This measure aligns well with national policy objectives to tackle congestion, encourage economic and housing growth as well as delivering better bus services and improved infrastructure to boost cycling and walking.

Leicestershire County Council is working hard to minimise disruption to local residents and businesses, with a ‘meet the contractor’ event being hosted by construction group Galliford Try on Friday and Saturday 17 and 18 March where attendees can find out more about the project.

Paul Bennell, Managing Director, Samworth Brothers Supply Chain, said:

This announcement is good news for Melton, helping to reduce traffic congestion and delays.  Much work has also been undertaken to position Melton Mowbray as a successful ‘Rural Capital of Food’, including by our team at the Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe.  This development will help the town further build on its successful efforts in this area and create more economic benefits.

The press release issued by the Department for Transport on 6 March 2023.

Fully accessible stations are being built to give 6 Northumberland communities regular train services.

Passengers in the North-East will be able to reconnect with friends and family and enjoy greater access to business and education opportunities when the historic Northumberland Line reopens next summer.

The government is working with Northumberland County Council, Network Rail and Northern Rail to restore regular services to the vital line from next year, creating faster and easier journeys between Ashington and Newcastle.

The completed line will see journey times slashed in half, brand new stations built and historic railway towns, which have not seen footfall of eager passengers since the heydays of The Beatles, revived.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper said:

Communities in Northumberland can get ready for regular train services that will better connect people to jobs, education and opportunities while growing our economy.

Restoring lost railway connections will drive tourism, boost local business opportunities and encourage investment across our regions, which is why I’m pleased to say that we are on track to reopen this historic line next summer.

With 6 new, fully accessible stations being built, the new line will stop at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park and finally, Newcastle Central.

Northumberland County Council Leader Glen Sanderson said:

We are delighted to have reached this major milestone which gives the green light for the main construction works to start. This is such a transformational scheme which will bring benefits for residents, businesses and visitors for generations to come.

We have been working so hard over recent years to make this scheme happen, getting all the necessary planning and stations approved and preparing the line for the major works.

This is the moment we’ve been working towards, and I am so excited we’ve reached this point as we prepare to get trains rolling again through this part of our county.

Not only will the restoration of passenger services reconnect communities and improve connections, but it will also boost the region’s economy through improving access to jobs.

Once complete, the journey time between Newcastle and Ashington will be reduced from 70 minutes to just 35, with services operating regularly 7 days a week, providing easy access to jobs, education and tourism opportunities in the city centre for not only local residents but all those passing through too.

The line’s construction work alone has created almost 100 high-skilled jobs and apprenticeships, demonstrating the benefits it’s already having on the local community.

Congestion and air quality are also expected to plummet as people will be encouraged away from their cars and onto trains.

Matt Rice, Network Rail’s North & East Route Director said:

This is hugely welcome news as we get closer to delivering a transformed railway which will support the re-introduction of regular passenger trains and connect communities in Northumberland and Newcastle.

We’re proud to be working with our industry partners on this truly revolutionary project, which will boost economic growth and bring a new lease of life to the region.

The Northumberland Line project forms part of the government’s Restoring Your Railways scheme, which has been reinstating local services and restoring closed stations and railway lines that were axed as a result of the Beeching cuts in 1963.

It has already seen the successful delivery of the Dartmoor Line, which reopened to passengers in November 2021 and has since doubled its passenger services and benefitted students studying in Exeter.