AN MP has called on three councils and railway bosses to take action after becoming exasperated by traffic problems caused by three level crossings surrounding a town.

Richmond MP Rishi Sunak has called a summit to investigate options to ease the congestion caused by the barriers at Low Gates, Romanby Road and Boroughbridge Road, which are down for about 4.5 hours every day and can hold up traffic for up to 20 minutes at peak times.

Traders and councillors in Northallerton have long expressed frustration over traffic issues, saying it both deters shoppers from visiting the town and businesses from locating there.

Mr Sunak said while the building of a bridge over the East Coast mainline and a link between Darlington and Stokesley roads as part of the North Northallerton development would help, it was not known how big a difference it would make.

He added there was uncertainty about the future level of freight and passenger rail traffic on the Teesside line, with Virgin East Coast planning to introduce 12 direct train services between Middlesbrough and London by 2020 and Teesport could be expanded under Government plans to develop the Northern Powerhouse.

The move follows Mr Sunak holding talks with Network Rail managers, who revealed a £5 million upgrade of the manually operated crossings to fully automated was planned for 2021.

The barriers are lowered for between three to four minutes a time to allow about 80 passenger and freight trains to and from Teesside to pass through the town a day.

Mr Sunak said constituents raised the problem with him regularly and he experienced the same frustration travelling between his home in Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, and his office off Darlington Road.

He said: "I am well aware that this is a longstanding problem and I know there isn’t an easy solution. If there was it would have been implemented.

“The purpose of the summit would be to establish what might be feasible and, crucially, an estimate of what the likely costs would be.”

Representatives of North Yorkshire County, Hambleton District and Northallerton Town councils – and Network Rail have been invited to attend the meeting next month.

Councillors Carl Les, leader of North Yorkshire County Council and Mark Robson, leader of Hambleton District Council, welcomed the summit.

Cllr Les added: “There are no easy or quick ways to addressing the issue but by bringing all the interested parties together we shall all gain a better understanding of what might be possible and what it might cost.”