HS2: Government 'misleading' people over Leamside line reopening

The government has been accused of "misleading" people over the reopening of a rail line using funds from HS2's scrapped northern leg.

On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced plans to invest £36bn in projects around the North and Midlands including the North East's Leamside line.

However, mentions of it were quickly removed from the government's website.

Transport minister Richard Holden said it had only committed to "looking into" the scheme.

The prime minister used his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester to confirm the cancellation of the northern part of the HS2 rail link, which had been due to run between the city and Birmingham.

A report on how the outstanding £36bn was to be reinvested in alternative transport measures was then published.

In the Network North report - later amended - it said the Leamside line, which ran between Pelaw, Gateshead and Tursdale, County Durham, would be reopened.

Mr Holden has since said the government wants to "work with local partners to consider the different uses for the route" and listen to "what their priorities would be for transport in the area".

Any decision to reopen the line, which closed in 1964, could be made by local leaders using an £1.8bn fund due to be granted by the government and aimed at bolstering local transport, he added.

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership said the government's Network North plans were a "fairytale", with chief executive Henri Murison questioning the prime minister's "credibility".

And in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "Yesterday we were led to believe this was happening - so I welcomed it.

"Misleading the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and northern public [is] not a good way to build trust. I'm writing to Huw Merriman today and will seek clarification urgently."

He added if the government did not honour its initial commitment it would be "significant evidence of a betrayal of the North of England".

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuiness, Labour's candidate for North East mayor, called the original announcement a "scam".

"The prime minister's promise to the North East didn't even last 24 hours - only a fool would trust Rishi Sunak again," she said.

Politicians, local businesses and the public have called for the reopening of the Leamside Line for several years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It has been suggested part of the route could also provide an extension for the Tyne and Wear Metro network to Washington.

A Department for Transport spokesman said the government was providing around £1.8bn to the North East - an investment it said was "only possible due to the billions of pounds redirected from HS2".

He added: "This investment will empower local leaders to fund the transport projects that matter most to their communities - including funding for the Leamside line if they choose to.

"We are working closely with Transport North East as they work on the business case for the re-opening of the Leamside line."

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