DfT consults on community rail plans for East Suffolk and Tyne Valley routes

The Government is consulting on plans to designate rail routes in East Suffolk and the North East as community rail services.

The Department for Transport said the designation would see train services designed according to local needs.

This in turn “would help increase passenger numbers, improve connectivity to key destinations and ultimately boost the local economy”.

Train companies would continue to operate the services, but following designation would be supported by a ‘Community Rail Partnership’, made up of local councils, community groups and other volunteers, to decide how they should be run.

The East Suffolk consultation can be viewed here, while the Tyne Valley consultation can be viewed here.

According to the DfT, 19 rail lines around the country have been designated as community lines since 2005, along with a further 17 services since 2005.

These include the Wherry Lines services between Norwich, Yarmouth and Lowestoft, which were designated in February 2007, and the Cumbrian Coast Line between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, designated in September 2009.

The consultations run until midnight on Friday, 5 September 2014.

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: “We are committed to putting passengers at the heart of the rail network.

“By designating these services as community rail services, we will breathe new life into the local rail network and, by providing services that people want to use, will safeguard their future and help secure long-term growth in the local economies.”