Today, 15th June 2014, marks five years since the publication of the Connecting Communities report into potential opportunities to expand the rail network. This blog will be publishing a set of posts during June to review the progress that has been made to date. This is the sixth post in the “Five Years On” series.
This post reviews the progress of two of the proposed Park & Ride railway stations.
Ossett
Located on the site of the former Healey Mills Yard, this stop was proposed for the line between Wakefield and Huddersfield. It had one of the highest BCR’s with 9.8.
West Yorkshire Metro have pursued a number of proposals to reopen railway stations in West Yorkshire. A railway station at Ossett has not been in the recent proposals but West Yorkshire Metro is currently awaiting the results of a study to look into proposed sites. This study will be reviewed during June 2014 at a meeting of the WYCA Transport Committee.
Peterlee
A station was proposed on the Coast Line between Sunderland and Hartlepool. It was given a BCR of 8.8. Whilst ATOC suggested the Easington station site, the local authority had a report commissioned to look at a large number of sites on this line. This review supported the site at Sea View.
Durham County Council has advised that their plans are moving forward with funding conditionally approved for the estimated cost of £7 million.
Durham Council does have plans to open a new rail station on the Durham Coast Rail Line in the vicinity of Peterlee/Horden. We have conditional approval for the necessary funding and are currently working with Northern Rail on passenger and financial forecasts, and with Network Rail on a Development Services Agreement for their “GRIP” design process. The current programme would see the new station open in summer 2016.