Wearside residents’ fury at failure to re-open Leamside railway line

Commenting on the publication of the Government's Integrated Rail Plan which confirms that the Government won't fund work to re-open the former Leamside railway line, Washington Liberal Democrats spokesperson Steve Donkin said:

"This integrated rail plan shows no ambition whatsoever for the North East and comes as a bitter blow to people in Houghton, Washington and west Sunderland who pay their taxes like everyone else but have had to put up with sub-standard transport links for decades.

"If we are ever to see Metros or Northern Rail services introduced, Sunderland Council and local MPs need to seriously up their game and start beating down the door of Transport ministers and refusing to shut up about this in Parliament.

"Convincing government transport bosses that they should allocate money to draw up a plan to re-open the Leamside line must become a top priority for Sunderland Council and the city's MPs who have so far failed to maximise our chances of bringing rail services to as many parts of Wearside as possible - just as reopening railway lines in other parts of the region have taken a step forward."