The Leamside Line
The case for reopening 21 miles of railway in the North East of England.
The campaign
The Leamside Line is a disused section of railway which covers the 21 miles between Gateshead and County Durham.
It was closed for good in the 1990s, but Transport North East believe that this was a mistake.
The organisation is now working towards reopening the line to both passengers and freight to enable critical parts of the region to be connected with Newcastle, Sunderland and Teeside.
They tasked us with putting together a coherent campaign and getting the project off the ground.
To bring the story to life, we created the Leamside Line campaign.
150+ pieces of national & local coverage
£350,000 of funding allocated by the government to progress the case for reopening the line
Commitment from Labour and NE mayoral candidates to reopen the line
Trending topic on X (Twitter)
Building a successful campaign
The campaign story is centred around the Leamside Line being one of the most important pieces of infrastructure for the economic future of the North East.
Not only would it provide connections to towns and cities across the region, it would also relieve pressure on the East Coast Main Line to allow more services to run from Edinburgh to London as well as the additional environmental benefits which come from reducing car and freight journeys.
We began working with the Transport North East team in summer 2022 when there was positive but hyper-local support for the line reopening.
The goal was to set up a coherent campaign, engage relevant politicians, raise the Leamside Line’s profile and gather widespread public support for the proposals.
We began working with the Transport North East team in summer 2022 when there was positive but hyper-local support for the line reopening.
The results
Execution
- Campaign strategy: Developed aims, objectives, goals and timelines
- New assets: Created a campaign video and dedicated website
- Local engagement: Coordinated with regional influencers including MPs and councillors
- Political support: Set up Leamside Line APPG
- Media relationships: Significant PR and media engagement (regionally, nationally and with specialist rail outlets)
Results
- Real impact: Trending topic on X (Twitter)
- In the news: Extensive coverage in major publications including BBC News, The Chronical, The Northern Echo and others
- Television interest: Broadcast coverage on BBC Look North
- Cash support: Secured £350,000 of funding to progress the case for reopening the line
- Cross-party approval: Leamside Line APPG members from all political parties
