Tees Valley Combined Authority has announced that it will be utilising some of the £1 billion of redirected HS2 funding to construct a new railway station to serve Teesside International Airport.
Following the cancellation of the northern leg of the HS2 project, the funding that was being put into the project has been reallocated to improving local transport infrastructure, with the Tees Valley region seeing £1 billion being invested. Of this funding, £20 million will be used to build the new station at the airport, which was brought back under public ownership in 2019.
The station will be fully accessible and will improve the transport links for residents wishing to use the airport from across the region. Included in the Mayor’s Transport Package, the project will be passed over to the Tees Valley Combined Authority cabinet this month.
Mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen (above) said:
“It is no secret that our airport suffered serious neglect under the stewardship of the previous owners and local Labour councils, and it was always going to take some time to turn things around.
“In the past few years, we have saved the airport from closure, invested in our terminal which has helped us attract amazing holiday flights to Alicante, Faro, and Corfu to name just a few. These improvements have also allowed us to provide a level of service to our passengers which has seen us win two national awards.
“We are ahead of schedule on our plan to turn things around, and the next phase of development following the opening of our business park and cargo facility, will see us build a new station at the airport.
“As a serious airport we need a working rail link that passengers can use to get to the airport, and with the current state of the train station this is simply not possible.
“This investment is another step towards making our fantastic local airport sustainable for the long-term and is only possible following the £1 billion we received from government following the cancellation of the Manchester leg of HS2.”
The airport was brought back under public ownership on the 24th January 2019, following a unanimous vote from the six leaders of the Combined Authority.
Image and Video credit: Tees Valley Combined Authority
