Headlines
- Travel to work times in the North East are similar to other regions apart from London. The majority of commuting is by car.
- Teesport is a very significant port, nationally, and vital to the region's economy.
Introduction – National Policy Context
The Department for Transport’s aim is transport that works for everyone. This means a transport system that balances the needs of the economy, the environment and society. In support of this aim the Department has five strategic objectives:
One: To support national economic competitiveness and growth, by delivering reliable and efficient transport networks.
Two: To reduce transport’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, with the desired outcome of avoiding dangerous climate change.
Three: To contribute to better safety, security and health and longer life-expectancy through reducing the risk of death, injury or illness arising from transport, and promoting travel modes that are beneficial to health.
Four: To promote greater equality of opportunity for all citizens, with the desired outcome of achieving a fairer society.
Five: To improve quality of life for transport users and non-transport users, and to promote a healthy natural environment.
The Regional Transport Network
The North East has a unique place in the economic geography of the UK. The region is between two nations, England and Scotland, but is as close in distance to Edinburgh and Glasgow as it is to the Leeds-Manchester Trans-Pennine corridor. The coastal nature of the region means that links to Europe and to Ireland are important and gives added significance to the importance of the region’s ports and airports. The region is linked by major road, rail, sea and air corridors to the UK and beyond.
Modal Comparisons
Travel to work in the North East in 2009 is dominated by the car, with almost three quarters (74%) of commutes in the North East done by private transport, 4% higher than the national average. In the urban centre of Tyne and Wear, there is a greater tendency to use public transport and the results are much more in line with the national average. Particularly, in Tyne and Wear and 13% of workers use the bus to commute to work, compared with 7% nationally. While rail use is much less than the national average, Tyne and Wear compares with the national average with regard to “Other Rail”, reflecting the existence of the Metro system.
Commuters in the North East have a significantly shorter journey time to the national average – however when London is discounted North East journey times are similar to the national average. The average time taken to travel to work is 22 minutes in the North East, compared to 27 minutes nationally. This is reflected across the region, although Tyne and Wear accounts for significantly longer journey times than the rest of the North East.
Aviation
Flights from both Newcastle International Airport and Durham Tees Valley International Airport link the region with key domestic and European destinations, and provide an international gateway for tourism and business to the North East.
Newcastle International is the main airport for the North East of England, serving a population of over 3 million people. Over the past 10 years, it has experienced significant growth in all sectors – domestic and international scheduled services, charter flights and freight operations.
It currently provides scheduled services to 70 international destinations, in addition to 18 in the UK and Ireland, and has seen significant growth in passenger numbers. Despite reflecting the economic downturn in 2008, Newcastle Airport still serves over 4.5 million passengers a year.
Durham Tees Valley Airport is the smaller of the region’s two airports with a smaller catchment of approximately 2 million population. The airport has recently suffered from the loss of direct flights to London due to the cost of runway slots at the capital’s airports.
Maritime
The North East region is served by six ports, though the two principal regional ports are Port of Tyne and Teesport (Teesside). These ports provide important freight and passenger access to and from the region, and are essential elements in support of the economy of the North East.
In terms of tonnage, Teesport is the third largest port in England and is a key economic driver, a gateway for trade and business, supporting and attracting new development and investment, and is a key employment site. It has a vital role in attracting investment to the North East and is strategically important to the chemical, steel and energy sectors. PD Teesport’s proposals for the development of a deep sea container are of strategic economic importance, not only to the North East, but on a pan-regional and national basis. Enormous potential exists for opening up and expanding trade into Teesport from Asia and China.
Traffic at North East ports has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years, catering for 44.6million tonnes in 2009, down from its 2005 peak of 61.6 million tonnes. The majority of this traffic (39.2 million tonnes) operates out of Teesport, however the Port of Tyne has increased its traffic over this period by approximately 50% (to 3.5 million tonnes).
In terms of short sea ferry passenger movements, numbers from the Tyne to Amsterdam have experienced a long term pattern of growth. This levelled off in 2008 but grew by 13% in 2009. The Scandinavian routes have not been as successful, as DFDS ceased operating their Swedish and Norwegian routes in recent years - the last journey to Norway taking place in September 2008.
Public Transport
The East Coast Main Line links Newcastle, Darlington, and Durham with Edinburgh to the north and York, Leeds and London to the south. The Trans-Pennine rail route links the region to strategic destinations in Yorkshire and North-West England. regional rail routes include the Durham Coast line linking Newcastle with Middlesbrough via Sunderland and Hartlepool, the Tyne Valley line between Newcastle and Carlisle and the Saltburn-Middlesbrough-Darlington-Bishop Auckland line.
Since 1997, there has been a steady overall decline in the use of public transport but this has levelled off from 2005/06 and there have been signs of modest increases in passenger numbers. The Tyne and Wear Metro has been showing an increase in passenger numbers since 2000 and now serves almost 41 million passenger journeys per year.
Roads
North East expenditure on road improvements and infrastructure, per kilometre, is comparable with all other regions apart from London which spends significantly more.
The region’s roads do not suffer from the same levels of congestion as other parts of the country. Tyne and Wear experienced an average of 3 minutes 11 seconds per mile on its urban roads. This compares to an average of 4 minutes 10 seconds for the average English conurbation. This may, in part, be due to the fact that the region has lower levels of household car ownership than other regions. 31% of households in the region do not own a car, compared with the national average of 24%.