New London station leaves North East in a siding

LIBERAL Democrats in Blaydon constituency in western Gateshead have called on the government to give the Tyne Valley railway line a better deal following the announcement of £68 million for a new station in London.

Kings Cross/St Pancras is to get a new Thameslink station as part of an overall strategy for improving public transport in the capital.

But at the same time, the government are considering closing half the stations on the Tyne Valley line including Blaydon and Dunston.

Lib Dem Councillor Jonathan Wallace, who is campaigning to keep the stations open, said, “Kings Cross is the terminus for trains from the North East and is a major transport hub for London.

“Within a couple of years, Eurostar services to the Continent will run from there as well. So it will benefit people of the North East to have the investment at Kings Cross.

“But I am concerned that at the same time the government are carrying out a review of the stations on the Tyne Valley line and could close up to half of them.

“It appears that the government are treating the capital in a far more generous way than the North East.

“The government have put public transport in the North East into a siding.”