Nick Brown MP » Metro http://www.nickbrownmp.com Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne East Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:48:17 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 £300m Investment Programme for the Metro http://www.nickbrownmp.com/2008/07/300m-investment-programme-for-the-metro/ http://www.nickbrownmp.com/2008/07/300m-investment-programme-for-the-metro/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:53:19 +0000 ER http://nbmp.whitshed.com/content/?p=106 This summer marks the first anniversary of my appointment as Minister for the North East. It’s been a productive year. Making the case for job opportunities to be based within the region, for the area to build on its reputation as the UK’s centre and leader in green technologies, and doing what I can to get people in the North East access to better quality housing, is all part of it.
 
This has been capped by the visit this week of Rosie Winterton, the Transport Minister, to announce a £300m investment programme for the Metro. Until now, Government has agreed funding on an annual basis but, together with Nexus, I’ve been making the case for a longer term package to enable improvements to be planned further in advance. The new announcement guarantees support for the next decade. This is good news for passengers and good news for the economy of the North East.
 
Trains will be refurbished, with improved facilities including visual displays and audio announcements highlighting the next stop. Nexus are also planning to invest £60m in station improvements, with the most popular stops being a priority. And there will be benefits in terms of comfort on the system as a result of the work which will be undertaken on the track.
 
The modern Metro system was opened in the early 1980′s, built to a large extent on the former local heavy rail network. By 2006/7 there were nearly 38m passenger journeys on the system, making it the second most popular light rail system in the country. It’s only right, then, that the North East gets a long term funding agreement to keep the publicly owned Metro among the best systems in the country.

This is a big announcement for us. It is the result of a lot of hard work by the Director General and his staff at Nexus, supported by the five local authorities on Tyne and Wear and the region’s MPs. It shows what we can achieve when we stick together for the good of the region.

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