Northallerton to Eaglescliffe Freight Clearance

The movement of freight is a vital part of the Tees Valley economy and will play an increasingly important role as investment projects and the Teesside Freeport develops.  

At the moment, rail freight via the East Coast Main Line moves onto the Tees Valley Line via Darlington – which acts as a constraint.  

Funding from the first round of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement was allocated to focussing on gauge clearance work on the Northallerton to Eaglescliffe line to bring this into use.  

This would involve improvements at four locations to either lower the track or rebuild bridges and tunnels to allow larger shipping containers to travel on the most direct and efficient route to and from Teesside and the south.  

Additional Government rail money will be sought to deliver the scheme.  

A total of £35million signed off by the TVCA Cabinet in January 2024 will also allow further work to be commissioned on exploring what can be done on the existing rail network of freight. 

Namely:  

• Supporting further upgrades on the network to remove constraints and improve freight efficiency. 
• Opportunities to reinstate or introduce new infrastructure to remove barriers to the use of rail freight at key locations.