IN 2025 we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the day that our region was at the centre of an innovation which went on to change the world.

When George Stephenson’s Locomotion No1 left Darlington and travelled to Stockton it marked the birth of the modern passenger railway.

We would be missing a glorious opportunity if the 2025 celebrations focussed solely on the achievements of the past. 

Details unveiled today exclusively by The Northern Echo show how we could mark the anniversary year by opening a stunning new station for Darlington that would benefit communities across Tees Valley, County Durham and the rest of the north.

Remodelling the station and creating platforms for connections and high speed services has the potential to once again put Darlington at the heart of a transport revolution.

This will of course require funding but if Network Rail and the Government are serious about creating a powerhouse economy across the north then their plans need to be about more than putting Manchester and Liverpool on a fast track to prosperity. It would be a national disgrace if they overlooked Tees Valley.

Darlington Council often comes under fire for failing to have a clear vision for the town but along with its partners in Tees Valley Combined Authority it has come up with a bold plan that can create jobs, attract investment and improve the lives of people across the region. We applaud their efforts and offer them our wholehearted support as they bid to secure the cash that will make this a reality.

The ambitious plan to build the HS2 super fast railway pales compared to the game-changing impact of Stephenson's work two centuries ago but we have a chance now to develop a railway that is fit for the 21st century and we must seize that chance with both hands.