A group of MPs led by Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell has called on the Chancellor to include funding to improve the East Coast Main Line in next week's Budget.
The cross party group All Party Parliament Group on East Coast Main Line, including MPs representing constituencies along the line, warned the East Coast Main Line "can no longer cope with the demands placed upon it and, rather than helping to fuel economic growth, it now holds back the communities it serves."
They said in a letter to the Chancellor: "We believe significant upgrades to the East Coast Main Line are long overdue, given that the last major investment in the route took place three decades ago.
"We therefore call upon the Government and Network Rail to work together to produce credible, timely and properly funded plans to upgrade the East Coast Main Line to tackle urgent capacity, performance and resilience issues on the line in the short term, and to ensure that in the long term, the line is HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail ready so that the communities served by the line can fully benefit from the introduction of high-speed rail."
Ms McKinnell, the group's chair, said: "The East Coast Mainline is a crucial part of our national infrastructure but it desperately needs investment to make it fit for modern Britain.
“There are a number of pinch points on the line where it narrows to two tracks and if a train breaks down or there are signalling issues it causes chaos right down the route, affecting travellers and commuters and costing businesses money.
“If every part of the UK is to benefit from HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, the East Coast Main Line must receive investment too.”
North East politicians signing the letter included Sunderland Central MP Julie Elliott; Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson; South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck; Easington MP Grahame Morris; Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson, and former Berwick-upon-Tweed MP Lord Beith. It was also signed by MPs from Yorkshire, Scotland and other parts of the country served by the East Coast Main Line.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver his Budget statement to the House of Commons on March 11.
