Labour's North East Mayor candidate Kim McGuinness calls for cost of Northumberland Line delays to be published

Kim McGuinness, currently the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner but contesting the mayoral election on May 2, pledged to hold an internal inquiry into the reasons for the delay if elected.

The project to return passenger rail services between Newcastle and Ashington, previously forecast to cost £166m, is due to open this summer, but stations in Bedlington, Bebside, and Northumberland Park will not be complete until an unspecified point in 2025.

The extra costs to the project caused by the delay have not yet been published by Northumberland County Council, which the local authority said is due to ongoing “confidential commercial discussions,” and not a lack of transparency.

Ms McGuinness said: “More and more public funds have gone into this but no one has so far revealed to the taxpayer how much extra this has cost.

“As mayor I will ask for a full report on the reasons for the delay, and I promise to make the secret cost public.

“The people of the North East have paid for this line, they have a right to know what it is costing them.

“If a new railway line into London was opened over-budget, delayed, and with several of its planned train stations missing the government would be unable to avoid questions over a failure to deliver. The exact same standards have to apply here in the North East.”

Labour’s MP for Wansbeck, Ian Lavery, backed the mayoral candidate’s call for transparency.

He said: “Since 2017 the Tories have scaled back the project in ambition and scope and even as it approaches reopening key stations are to be bypassed. People deserve to know the level of extra spending that this has garnered.”

A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said: “This line will open again for passengers for the first time in six decades and is a hugely important regional and national project.

"It is a triumph of engineering for which we thank HM Government and Network Rail for their financial contributions and the cross-party North of Tyne Combined Authority for their support.

"Because of the huge nature of the project and challenges, including the effects of the pandemic and the very difficult weather experienced, we know that the cost will be significantly higher than the original estimate.

"It is entirely incorrect and wrong to infer that there is any secrecy about the costs of the project.

“We are still in confidential commercial discussions and until they are settled, we do not know what the final cost will be.

“However, as soon as the matters are concluded then the overall cost of this great project will be gladly given.”

Cllr Richard Wearmouth, chair of Northumberland Conservatives, said: “The Conservative government and our council are returning passenger rail services to south east Northumberland after decades of the Labour Party failure.

“Kim McGuinness is attacking the project to hide her party's own incompetence over many years of failing to deliver the scheme.”