A lot of that damage was done years ago when services were reduced. We used to have direct trains to Liverpool, for example, which were culled despite being popular and well used. Add in the lack of parking near the station, which the new carpark at Holmeside should solve, and it became easier for people to either metro it to Newcastle or drive and park up at Newcastle/Durham. Then it becomes a habit that's hard to break. Getting more services using Sunderland will get more people travelling from there, but I reckon at present the station couldn't handle the extra services unless there were new platforms. It's why the proposals to open the other island and lengthen the platforms are to me so important. And if we can get some other branch lines reopened to feed into the station, that would be brilliant. Part of me honestly feels like we suffered for 30, 40 plus years for political agendas and it's only recently that things have started to change.
As you drive down Station Road from Northern Powergrid to Gladstone Terrace, it's the estate on the left before the old railway bridge. Here's a few old photos of what Penshaw Junction was like before Beeching got his claws into it. There are also photos of the Mallard crossing the Victoria Viaduct, as well as stations along the Leamside line. http://www.raggyspelk.co.uk/washington_pages/selections1/leamside_line.html Interestingly enough, there was never a direct line between South Hylton and the Viaduct. One of the photos shows the line from Sunderland meeting the line from Washington at Penshaw Junction. I've walked the line a few times and I can't see there being enough of a turning circle for the metro from South Hylton to turn a sharp right to link up with the viaduct. There's a steep gulley to the left of the viaduct on the Penshaw side, which would need a bridge to cross it, or it would need filling in, which would be a hell of a task. The gulley gets shallower as you go along, but the turning circle gets narrower. I'll be surprised if the Metro doesn't extend to Penshaw Station, where the train driver can move from the front of the train to the back then drive out the way he came, crossing over to the track which leads to the viaduct. This site has all of the old lines and stations on it: https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/P/Penshaw_Junction/
I think this will happen after the new North East Mayor is elected next May. Here is a section from a Parliamentary debate last month. Reacting to the U- turn, Mary Kelly Foy, Member of Parliament for the City of Durham, asked the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper: “No matter how much the Secretary of State tries to back-pedal, the fact is that the proposal to reopen the Leamside line was scrapped just 24 hours after it was announced, and businesses and communities in the north-east rightly feel betrayed. “Who was it who decided that they would water down the proposal? Who decided that the Leamside line was far too north to be worthy of government investment? Was it the Prime Minister, the Treasury or the Minister who sold out the North East?” the Secretary of State attempted to brush off suggestions the government’s commitment had been watered down at all, stating: “I am not quite sure why the Hon. Lady does not think that an extra £685 million for transport in the North East, adding up to £1.8 billion of investment, and the fact that we have started work with officials in that area on that project should not be welcomed. I think it should be welcomed, and I am sure that she and other colleagues who support it will continue working with us on making sure that it gets delivered.” The fact that LNER were looking in that area would tend to back this statement up. The Rail Minister Huw Merriman has also met a group of North East MP's from all parties and Business Leaders and stated that the Government is committed to working with the North East Mayor to ensure that the Leamside Line reopens.
yes be great to see Tom cruise, Jason statham, Sigourney weaver etc and making another alien film maybe.
FulwellCain - a joint venture between global entertainment company Fulwell 73 and Cain International - and Sunderland City Council are spearheading a bid to gain approval that will pave the way for a £450million film studio on the former Crown Works industrial site in Pallion.... This represents the most significant step forward to date for Crown Works Studios, which will be one of Europe’s largest facilities, bringing 8,450 jobs.... The studios could generate £334million for the local economy every year, creating jobs and contract opportunities spanning a vast range of disciplines including the trades and manual skills. The impact will be felt across the region, and align well with Government commitments made in the spring to spur on the development of the UK’s creative industries.... [ Crown Works – named after the former shipyard that once stood on the site - will be transformational for the city’s economy, cultivating an eco-system on a scale not seen since Nissan’s investment in Sunderland in the 1980s, while meeting the growing demand for studio space in the UK ]
This is the sort of investment which totally transforms the City. Now we need to see the underwater studios plan for the Pallion shipyard get sorted. If we get that as well then we will have high skilled well paid secure employment for the next generation of kids born in the city, who will not need to move away for work.
I'm not from Sunderland and, the club apart, have little connection to the town. But I've always felt a bit sorry for the place and full of admiration for the resilience of the people. Seriously, the locals should be proud of themselves for the way they've taken all the blows and just cracked on. Other towns and cities have become absolutely horrific gang-ridden gun/drug invested shyteholes but Sunderland has remained much as it always was ... a rough tough decent working class place where people get on as best they can. I'd love to see the place thriving and prosperous.
I'd second that, other than supporting the lads I've no connection to the City. Seeing all these proposed projects if they become reality will hopefully shift the main NE focus away from the Tyne to the Wear. I lived on Teesside for 30 years and the money poured South of the Tees ignoring both Stockton and Hartlepool was tantamount to political criminality. I have the feeling it's Sunderland 's turn to stand in the sunlight.
It sounds like wildly good news mind that it's this far on. Not just a hope or a dream. Good things follow good things, and that's what's happening here, no doubt about it. They wouldn't be doing this if Sunderland was still in the stasis of a few years ago. More will follow, I'm convinced of that. Great credit should go to all involved in getting this transformation underway. They are an example to a multitude of other cities, starved of investment and recognition. But you need the people to drive all this, and it looks like Sunderland has them.
It's just a shame no-one ever thought of building a High Speed rail link from London to the North East ... ... just imagine that eh
Sounds as if this will be the place to be when it opens next year, especially with the new bridge. Should be a good spot for pre match food and drink.
It's about time someone cashed in on the fact there are 40,000 fans at every match and created a proper fanzone where there are plenty food and drink options, places to sit etc etc The old fanzone was decent but it always just looked like a few stalls on an empty bit of car park. Given the lack of space on the concourse, it'd be nice to have a good outdoor area to congregate pre-match
It could be that knowing that the Stables were being built it was not worth the club investing in anything else as they will not be able to compete.
