TEES VALLEY mayor Ben Houchen said the Tees Valley Combined Authority cannot justify funding the extension of TransPennine Express train services into Saltburn.

Instead, hopes that services could be extended beyond Redcar to Saltburn could hinge on the eventual drawing up of a new contract for a future operator.

Mr Houchen said that he wanted any future agreement to include an extension to Saltburn, but conceded it could be another two years before this was potentially on the table for discussion.

Current operator First TransPennine Express saw its franchise agreement, which runs until 2023, replaced last September with a transitional “emergency recovery” contract as the Government moved to create a new model for Britain’s railways and also take into account the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Further change could be on the way for rail operators with the move being viewed as a “kickstarter” towards more reforms aimed at making the industry simpler and more effective for passengers.

Campaigners’ hopes for a Saltburn extension have not been helped by a decline in passenger numbers caused by the coronavirus with TransPennine Express temporarily moving from an hourly to two hourly service to and from Redcar as a result.

With many in the industry predicting fewer passengers in the future should commuters stick with remote working methods introduced by the pandemic, this could mean even less of a case to invest in an extension to Saltburn.

The current cost of an extension has been put at as much as £10m.

Mr Houchen said the Tees Valley Combined Authority could conceivably fund such a sum, but “we did not think it would be justified because we thought it was something they [the train operator] should be doing anyway” and the money could be better spent on other projects.

He said he hoped to persuade rail chiefs to include Saltburn in any future requirements for the TransPennine service.

Mr Houchen said the adding of Redcar services to the route, which began in December 2019 and link the town to York, Leeds and Manchester Airport, had been a “great success”.

He said: “Our task now is to try and get Saltburn rather than just Redcar as part of the offer in any renewal.”

Saltburn is currently served by Northern Trains, but including it in the TransPennine route would mean faster, more frequent services for the spa resort.

Redcar and Cleveland Council and the Saltburn Line Users Group have previously added their voices to the campaign for an extension.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke said it was a matter of “making the finances work”.

He said: “Getting a rail link like this into Saltburn would not only be excellent for east Cleveland and a huge boost for tourism, but it would help tackle traffic and parking problems in Saltburn.

“If we can make the finances work it would be brilliant.

“If the pieces are in place when the contract is renewed this is a development I would support enthusiastically.”

A spokeswoman for First TransPennine Express said the specification of services was a matter shared between the Department for Transport and the sub-national transport body Transport for the North.

A spokesman for Transport for the North said: “We are aware of the local ambition to extend this service and will be factoring those ambitions into the development of Transport for the North’s long term train service specification recommendations with members and partners before they are finally decided on through the Rail North Partnership agreement with the Department for Transport.”

He said extending services beyond Redcar would require a “full business case before going through the proper governance and budget approvals process”.