AN injection of transport and infrastructure investment focussing on the North-East has been roundly welcomed.

Millions of pounds will be used to replace rolling stock and deliver much-needed improvement to transport links across the region.

A £59m transport fund has been devolved to radically improve public transport in the 307sq mile Tees Valley area.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen believes the announcement proves the area is no longer an afterthought for the Government.

The Conservative said: “Whilst other areas will have to go cap in hand to Government and complete tedious applications for a slice of the pie, the Tees Valley will receive a ring-fenced pot. The current public transport system for the Tees Valley is nowhere near good enough. With this investment, I want to improve the quality, frequency and reliability of the bus and rail services in our area. I will now instruct my officials to start pulling together proposals to fund.

"The Tees Valley Combined Authority will work closely with the bus and rail operators to maximise this investment and ensure real change is driven to the transport system.”

Redcar MP Anna Turley welcomed the announcement, but was concerned about the timespan of the proposed investment.

She said: “The increased infrastructure investment for the regions is positive, but with London already sucking up 54 per cent of English infrastructure spending compared to 20.1 per cent for the North, this will be only a drop in the ocean. Some of the funding doesn’t even begin until 2022-3.”

Elsewhere in the region, Toby Hughes, the managing director of Nexus, welcomed the investment for the ageing Tyne and Wear Metro rolling stock.

He said: “The Government has recognised how vital Metro is to the economy and lives of people in North East England. We made a strong case for funding which enjoyed very widespread and active support from the business community as well as our passengers. This announcement allows us to begin the search for a train builder immediately, and see new Metrocars start to arrive little more than four years from now.”