Support Our Port
Government to hold talks
TALKS are to be held between port operator PD Ports and a leading Government figure as part of the campaign for rail improvements which are crucial to £300m plans for a new Teesport container terminal.
Representatives from PD and Middlesborough South MP Ashok Kumar will hold a summit with Transport Minister Tom Harris about upgrading the rail line between the Middlesbrough port and the East Coast Main Line.
Last summer, ministers said they were considering improvements to cater for larger sea containers, which need more space to pass under bridges on the line.
But PD was left disappointed in December, when the Department for Transport announced it was not ready to part-fund the upgrade, saying the scheme was "not sufficiently developed".
PD's plans for the Teesport terminal have already been submitted to the Government, and could reach the Transport Secretary for a decision as early as this summer.
In a Commons debate yesterday, Mr Kumar warned Mr Harris that the decision threatened the planned growth of Teesport, and with it the creation of about 5,500 jobs.
The MP said: "I fear it will be so wide-ranging, and involve so many players, that small improvements such as this will get lost in the long grass.
"We need this rail link to enable the port to fulfil its potential - and it has a huge potential."
In reply, Mr Harris said: "I am happy to meet him and any relevant constituency interests that he would want to bring along to the department for transport."
Speaking after the debate, Mr Kumar said the offer of the meeting was a helpful step that had "left the door open".
Last month, the transport select committee appeared to back Teesport's case by demanding an urgent plan to ensure freight can move "easily, quickly and sustainably" out of Britain's ports.
Its report attacked the Government's "ports must pay" policy for preventing the movement of cargos by rail - forcing them onto congested roads.
The Teesport container terminal plans are backed by The Northern Echo through the Support Our Port campaign
10:57am Wednesday 28th February 2007
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