Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is looking at proposals to re-open the 21-mile long Leamside railway line, Ministers have confirmed.
But there is still no date set for an decision on the proposed service - or on other proposed rail schemes in the North, including the North East leg of HS2 and the cross-Pennine Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme.
An announcement about investment in rail schemes will be made as part of the Integrated Rail Plan, which was originally due to be published by the Department for Transport at the start of the year.
But it has been delayed repeatedly, and cannot now be published until after May 6's local elections.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the possibility of re-opening the Leamside line was being considered.
He said: "The Leamside line is being assessed as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail and will be considered within the Integrated Rail Plan."
But asked when the Plan will be published, he said: "Ahead of us finalising the Integrated Rail Plan we are fully considering the evidence from all stakeholders, we've had an awful lot."
The 21-mile long Leamside railway line runs between Pelaw, in Gateshead, and Tursdale, in County Durham.
It was closed in 1964, but the Government has asked local authorities and MPs to suggest closed rail lines that could be re-opened as part of its "levelling up" plans.
Washington and Sunderland West Labour MP Sharon Hodgson is pushing the Leamside proposal, saying it could connect with the Tyne and Wear Metro.
Urging Ministers to make a decision, she told the House of Commons: "We were told to expect an answer in March, then it was April and now we are almost in May without any further news. So when will my constituents expect to find out if this government intends to follow through on its promise to level up from Westminster to Wearside?"
Re-opening the Leamside line is also backed by Transport for the North, the North's transport authority.
It's one of a number of schemes awaiting a decision. The National Infrastructure Commission, which advises the Government, recommended in December that the eastern leg of the HS2 high speed rail line should run no further north than the East Midlands - and never reach Leeds. Under the original plan, the new line would run to Leeds and trains would then switch to conventional track and continue to Newcastle.
The National Infrastructure Commission also suggested the Government could save money by downgrading Northern Powerhouse Rail, a proposed new high speed line linking the North West and Yorkshire.
The prospect of downgrading either of these rail projects has sparked strong opposition from politicians across the North. The Integrated Rail Plan will reveal whether the Government has accepted National Infrastructure Commission's recommendations or not.
