A £1m European funding boost is putting steam trains back on a rural railway this summer.

More than half a century after the last regular passenger service ran through Weardale, County Durham, the track is re-opening in July with backing from the European Regional Development Fund.

The project has already received £200,000 from the fund to help with development work, with an additional £800,000 arriving soon.

With support from One NorthEast, the cash will mean that the Weardale Railway Company can meet its target of July 17 for running peak season steam specials between Stanhope and Wolsingham stations.

Volunteers have been restoring engines and rolling stock since the mid-1990s and started clearing the track late last year.

Over the next five years, services will extend to Eastgate and Bishop Auckland and will eventually connect with the main network route to Darlington.

It is hoped it will attract 90,000 visitors a year and put an estimated £3m into the Weardale economy.

Links with the £10m Shil-don Railway Village, opening in September, and Darlington Railway Museum, should create an unrivalled network of attractions, bringing tourists from all over the world.

The reopening of the Weardale Railway is a key element in a Task Force strategy to regenerate the dale's economy after job losses due to the foot-and-mouth crisis.

John Rundle, Europe director of the Government Office for the North-East, said: "Not only will it bring rail access to this area of outstanding beauty, but the benefits to the tourist industry will be enormous."

The railway's project manager, Tony Greenup, said: "Now the real work to reopen the railway can begin.

"Our volunteers, who have worked so hard over the years in the hope we could find finance for the reinstatement of the 'big ticket' items, such as the stations and level crossings, can now see that their efforts have not been in vain."

Supporters or volunteers wanting to join the Weardale Railway Trust can call (01388) 526262 or write to the Wear-dale Railway Project, Stanhope Station, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL13 2YS.