Restored East Cleveland railway could be ‘backbone of much larger tourism enterprise’

A private railway company could be set up to serve a previously mothballed passenger railway line in East Cleveland with the public investing in it as shareholders, it has been suggested.

Philip Chisholm, a local representative of the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly Sustrans, and a former councillor, said commercial investment would be needed in the Saltburn to Boulby route – which is currently only used by freight traffic – as well as public funds in order to re-open it to passengers.

Mr Chisholm, from Redcar, who previously came up with a conceptual idea for a new River Tees crossing, said £500,000 could be raised as a starting figure by having 10,000 local people invest just £50 each in the venture.

The net could also be widened with railway enthusiasts from further afield potentially able to participate, he said, boosting the figure raised.

Last month the results of an independent study commissioned by the Tees Valley Combined Authority estimated the bill for restoring the passenger railway – which ended in 1960 with the line now used solely torun trains to the British Steel special profiles mill at Skinningrove and the Cleveland Potash Boulby Mine site – could be a minimum £107m.

This would include constructing new stations, track renewal, signalling upgrades and further required infrastructure measures.

Engineering consultancy firm Arupalso said in a report thatsome sections of the route were in poor condition, requiring major investment to be suitable for regular passenger use, demand was projected to be low, and there were also limited opportunities to increase speeds on the line for journeys.

But Loftusward councillor Wayne Davies, who has campaigned for years for passenger rail to be reinstated on the stretch, said the estimated costs “beggars belief” and claimed they had been worked out “on the back of another cigarette packet”.

Fellow Loftus councillor Tim Gray also claimed the requirement for new train stations had been overstated and any costs could feasibly be far less.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said it had been a “very thorough piece of work by industry experts”with his combined authority now giving consideration over whether to produce an outline business case for the project in order to seek Government funding, while examining potential options which could bring costs down.

Mr Chisholm said a restored railway “could become the backbone of a much larger tourism enterprise” and a holiday village could be developed near the end of the line which would be within walking distance of Staithes, already a popular visitor destination.

He said: “The development might include hotels, restaurants, holiday homes, a campsite and stables offering pony-trekking routes across the North York Moors.

“This would be more than the restoration of a railway.

“It could create employment, attract private investment, strengthen local businesses and open the communities of East Cleveland to a new generation of visitors.

“The railway line already exists and the scenery is among the finest in Britain.

“What East Cleveland now needs is the ambition and commercial organisation to bring them together.”