Washington Metro Loop explained: Map, new stations and what it will cost

Plans to finally take the Tyne and Wear Tube to Washington will take a big step forward this month.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness announced on Wednesday that she would inject more than £8m into efforts to extend the tube and restore the preserved Leamside railway line. While the massive transport upgrade is still years away from becoming a reality, hopes are growing that it can be delivered after years of campaigning.

Taking the Tube to Washington and unlocking the wider rail link that Leamside offers would be a huge boost for the North East and has been hailed as something that can truly change lives. Here’s what you need to know about the plans.

Where would the Washington Metro loop go and where would the trains stop?

Plans to extend the current subway network would see trains continue from the current terminus at South Hylton, across the Victoria Viaduct, and then pass through Washington, and Follingsby before rejoining the subway line at Pelaw. This would use the northern section of the former Leamside railway line, where passenger trains stopped running 60 years ago.

A map of what the loop could look like shows three new station locations – Washington South, Washington North and Follingsby. However, these are only indicative locations and are not absolutely confirmed at this stage.

Washington is the fourth largest city in the UK without a rail link and there have long been calls for this to be resolved, while another key aim of the Tube extension is to offer better links to the International Advanced Manufacturing Park in Washington and the Follingsby Park industrial estate. where Amazon is located. The map also shows potential future extensions which would allow trains to continue from the Washington loop towards South Shields after reaching Pelaw, as well as a new connection between Tyne Dock and East Boldon, allowing much faster travel between Sunderland and South Shields.

Will the trains go further south?

The Washington Metro Loop is considered the first phase of the Leamside Line renewal. The line runs all the way down to Tursdale in County Durham, through communities such as Belmont and Shincliffe, and could be connected up to the East Coast Main Line (ECML). As well as offering the opportunity for passenger trains over this line, it would also provide an alternative route for freight trains, thereby increasing capacity on the ECML – potentially allowing more trains between the North East and London, Manchester or Birmingham.

There are also plans to reopen Ferryhill station. If this happens then it could allow the Leamside Line to be connected to the Stillington Line and pave the way for a new Tyne-Tees passenger rail service.

What is this new funding for?

The North East Combined Authority’s cabinet is due to report later this month to formally approve the £8.6m investment announced by Mayor Kim McGuinness this week.

Of this, £8m will be used to develop a framework business case for the Washington Metro Loop to 2026 – including full details of the route’s proposed stations and estimated costs. A further £600,000 will be used to commission the initial strategic case for Leamside South, the southern section of the line connecting to the East Coast Main Line.

What would it cost to reopen these lines and where will the money come from?

Earlier estimates put the cost of the Washington Metro Loop alone at £745 million. Rebuilding the entire Leamside Line would cost more than £1 billion. This money is beyond the capacity of the North East mayor’s budget, so it would have to come from somewhere else.

Asking the government to pay for it is an obvious solution. The Rishi Sunak administration briefly committed to this last year, but less than 24 hours after announcing the scheme, Leamside Line withdrew from its Network North commitments. Labor has also refused to commit to the Leamside Line at this stage, saying earlier this year it would “not treat the people of the North East like fools” by making a promise it doesn’t know it can keep.

Ms McGuinness, who made the Washington Metro Loop a key manifesto promise in her election campaign, said on Wednesday she would ask the new Labor government for funding but that regional transport leaders would have to “think differently” and look at partnerships with private businesses to also get money.

What are the benefits?

The Leamside Line is regularly described as the single most important piece of infrastructure the North East needs. The benefits of the return of rail transport to municipalities that have not seen a train pass through their town for decades are clear.

However, it is estimated that the Washington Metro loop would bring economic benefits to the region of at least £90 million a year, reduce car journeys by 1.7 million a year and reduce carbon emissions by 87,000 tonnes a year. Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon called it a “compelling case” for the Government to increase funding to make it happen.

When might these new lines open?

This is a key question to which we do not yet have a definitive answer. Developing a timeline for reopening is part of the business case work that funding will now allow the mayor to do.

However, a project of this magnitude is undoubtedly years away from actual implementation. The business case being prepared by Nexus is due to be completed by the spring of 2026, after which funding would need to be secured and then the necessary civil works to build new stations and re-open the railway lines.