RAIL chiefs are poised to decide whether a key North-East route will finally be electrified – delivering faster, “greener”

services – two decades after a scheme was killed off.

Network Rail will reveal in January whether an upgrade of the Middlesbrough to Northallerton line is affordable and offers value for money.

The Department for Transport (Dft) has asked the body in charge of Britain’s rail infrastructure to carry out the study because the route is now seen as the missing piece in the electrification jigsaw.

Last year, it was announced that the TransPennine route – between York and Manchester – will be electrified by 2018 to speed up journey times.

A Dft source said: “The key to this is that Northallerton to Middlesbrough will then be the only section of the track that is not electrified, all the way to Manchester.

“That’s why we have asked Network Rail to assess if there is a business case, to provide better services for passengers and also to help freight movements in and out of Teesport.”

The source said the likely benefits for Teesport would be crucial in deciding whether electrification made economic sense, adding: “That’s what could really improve the business case.”

At present, trains take about 28 minutes to trundle between Middlesbrough and Northallerton, two towns which are only 18 miles apart as the crow flies.

Last night, the study was welcomed by Tom Blenkinsop, the Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP, who has long pressed the Dft not to “leave Teesside on a non-electrified branch line”.

But the Labour MP said it was vital that key local agencies – such as Tees Valley Unlimited and the North East Chamber of Commerce – were included in the process.

Mr Blenkinsop said; “It cannot be just left as a Londonbased desk study, with all the dangers of coming to a shallow pre-ordained conclusion in the absence of any meaningful and deep consultation and possible partnership.”

The Middlesbrough-Northallerton route was proposed for electrification more than 20 years ago, when British Rail (BR) was exploring the idea of a Channel Tunnel freight terminal in the North.

But, back in 1991, rejecting the proposal, BR made the – all-too-accurate – prediction that electrification would not happen in the 20th Century.

As well as being greener, electric trains are also more reliable – because they have fewer moving parts and travel 40 per cent further before breaking down.

However, any scheme to electrify the Middlesbrough- Northallerton route would not start until after the next fiveyear spending period for rail, which ends in 2019.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “The assessment will be given when Network Rail publishes, on behalf of the rail industry, its strategic business plan, in January 2013.”