PEOPLE power will hold the key to success for a historic County Durham railway line which faces a perceived closure threat.

Control of the Darlington to Bishop Auckland branch line is to be handed over to a community rail partnership which will give local people direct input to the line.

About 20 local authorities, rail organisations and community groups have already pledged their support to the partnership.

They hope to secure the long-term future of the line by tailoring it to meet the needs of local people and increase passenger numbers.

Michael Lamport, of the Association of Community Rail Partnerships, said similar moves across the country were already working.

He said: "It will be about getting local people to have a say in local railways, the more they will then use it and the better it will be, thus extending its life. There is no reason it won't work here."

One of the top priorities for the partnership will be to liaise with train operators for an hourly service instead of every 90 minutes as it is at the moment.

A rolling programme of station improvements is already in the pipeline.

Residents will also be encouraged to get involved in the day-to-day running of the branch line and other projects ranging from artwork to youth activities.

Tourism could profit from the scheme with Darlington Railway Museum, Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, on the route and The Weardale Railway hoping to link up with the line.

George Muirhead, manager of Locomotion, wants to see more visitors travelling by train.

He hopes it could be secured to transport exhibitions to the site and to cater for specially chartered trains.

Charlie Walton, head of planning services at Sedgefield Borough Council, said: "We all hope to reduce the need to travel by car for environmental reasons, manage the existing line better and work together for the benefit of all communities along its corridor."

Darlington Borough Council's development and environment director John Buxton said: "It is very important to promote the region's railway heritage. Darlington to Bishop Auckland is part of the historic 1825 line, the first passengers' steam railway line."

It is hoped that the shake-up will prove the line is a viable mode of public transport before it faces the threat of closure which some members fear could.

The Railways Bill, which is currently being debated in the House of Lords, could make it easier for uneconomical rural lines to be closed without public consultation.