Northumberland council leader on benefits of £190m rail project - video

The leader of Northumberland County Council is 'pretty confident' of getting the backing of the Transport Secretary for a major rail project in the south-east of the county.

By Ben O'Connell

Published 8th Feb 2019, 11:35 BST

Updated 9th Feb 2019, 09:30 BST

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling with Northumberland county councillors during the journey on part of the line where it is hoped to reintroduce passenger rail services.

Coun Peter Jackson has reiterated why he is so keen to reintroduce passenger rail services between Ashington and Newcastle on the day he welcomed the Transport Secretary to hear more about the proposals.

Chris Grayling MP said: "“The Government’s spending a huge amount of money in and around our cities. The Transforming Cities Fund is well over a billion pounds for about a dozen of our leading cities so there is finance there for a project like this. I’m waiting to see the proposal to spend that money wisely in this area.”

You can read and watch more from the Transport Secretary's visit here.

Ben O'Connell, Local Democracy Reporting Service