Infrastructure
The transport infrastructure across North East England is excellent. There are two major airports, the main east coast train line, the main A1 road network and excellent sea links into its major regional ports.
Newcastle International Airport provides links to the rest of the world and provides access to London in an hour. Durham Tees Valley also provides a modern and convenient gateway to the region for visitors and has strong commitments to regional tourism. There are excellent airfreight links, particularly via Newcastle Airport’s international ‘Freight Village’, which offers cargo capacity on direct flights to Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast, Bristol, Brussels, Dubai, Dublin, London, Paris, Southampton and Stavanger. In addition to direct flights, it offers a range of airline truck services to East Midlands, London and Manchester for connections worldwide.
The East Coast main rail line and other direct routes from the region connect Newcastle, Durham and Darlington with many major UK cities quickly and conveniently including London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds, York and Manchester. There is also a daily service from Sunderland to the capital.
There are five major ports in the area: Tyne, Sunderland, Tees and Hartlepool, Seaham and Blyth. The two largest ports in the region are the Port of Tyne, and Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority, also known as Teesport. Teesport is the second largest deep sea port in the UK which enables it to handle large ships and offers superior cargo-handling facilities and large hinterlands. Teesport is a substantial landowner and has several subsidiary companies involved in offshore support, warehousing and distribution. The extensive Wilton International chemical site, home of NEPIC headquarters, is located near Redcar at the mouth of the River Tees, and its proximity to the port was critical to the site’s development.
By road London is under 5 hours from Newcastle. There are two main arterial routes running from the North East to some of the major centres of population in the UK - the A1 (M) and the A19 provide direct links to Leeds, Edinburgh and London. There are also good east-west routes running from Newcastle to Carlisle providing links to the west of the country. These links also mean freight can travel to major European destinations within 48 hours, and in many cases within 24 hours.
The North East’s transport infrastructure has been substantially upgraded over the last 30 years through major improvements to roads, railways (including the Tyne and Wear Metro), ports and airports.
The infrastructure is set to improve as business partners in the North East are working towards the Government initiative of ‘Delivering a Sustainable Transport System' to examine how economic growth can be achieved at the same time as tackling climate change.
The North East is to receive up to £2m to fund research into transport's role in relation to the region's economy, health, quality of life, the natural environment and climate change.
