TEES Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has hailed the news that TransPennine Express is extending its Manchester rail service all the way to Saltburn as a “major victory for local people”.

The train operator has announced that later this year its service from Manchester Airport will continue through Middlesbrough and Redcar all the way to the coastal town, subject to infrastructure upgrades.

In September 2019, after significant lobbying of Transport for the North, Network Rail, TransPennine Express and Government Mayor Houchen was able to secure the extension of the route to Redcar.

Phase two called for the line go all the way to Saltburn and Mayor Houchen has continued to work with everyone involved to ensure this vital future extension was implemented as soon as possible.

Mr Houchen said: “I’m delighted that TransPennine Express have decided to extend the line all the way to Saltburn, this is a huge step forward and something I have been fighting for, alongside local people in Saltburn, for a very long time.

“Now we much hold TransPennine’s feel to the fire and make sure they actually deliver the infrastructure upgrades that are needed before the extended service can start.

“This is a major victory for local people who have been fighting for years for better train services for Saltburn and will allow local people to travel directly to York, Leeds and Manchester.

“Local people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool rightfully demand good-quality and reliable train services and that’s why we are investing millions of pounds across the network so that no matter where you live you can quickly and easily get to where you need to go.”