'Incredibly high' cost of new Metro line questioned

North East mayor Kim McGuinness and deputy mayor Martin Gannon announced the £8.6m investment at the Leamside Line

Transport bosses have been quizzed over the "incredibly high" cost of the proposed Tyne and Wear Metro extension.

Labour's North East mayor Kim McGuinness announced that £8.6m would be spent to outline plans for the Washington loop, which would run on the northern section of the mothballed Leamside Line.

Sunderland Conservative councillor Dominic McDonough raised concerns at a North East Combined Authority (NECA) meeting.

Tobyn Hughes, NECA transport director, said the money would be spent on getting proposals through the extensive planning process.

The project could cost up to £745m but is estimated to boost the region's economy by £90m a year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A further £600,000 is due to be spent on developing plans to restore the southern section of the Leamside Line, which runs through County Durham and connects up to the East Coast Main Line.

The plans would see the Metro network expanded from South Hylton to Hebburn via Washington

Speaking at the NECA's overview and scrutiny committee, Mr McDonough claimed the equivalent business case for reopening the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle cost just £1.5m.

The Department for Transport awarded the funding in January 2020 for that project, although it is unclear whether that covered the full costs. Northumberland County Council has been contacted for more details.

Mr McDonough said: "One of the first big announcements we have had from the mayor is £8.6m for the business case for the Leamside Line… that seems incredibly high for me."

Mr Hughes defended the multimillion-pound planning budget and said "railway lines cost a lot of money".

He cited the discovery of old mine workings, iron age forts and protected animals as potential issues which could add to costs and cause delays.

"If a railway line was a skyscraper you would not just give a couple of quid to an architect and then tell the builders to go and build it," he said.

"You need to design it up and understand every aspect of how that work will progress."