Last week I visited the Port of Seaham alongside Tom Pattison from the Port, and Huw Merriman and Martin Bignell from Rail Freight Group.

It was a valuable opportunity to see first-hand the impressive and efficient operations happening right here in my constituency — from importing and exporting to storage and logistics. The port employs over 90 people locally and plays a crucial role in our regional economy.

With direct rail access for freight trains, the Port of Seaham is ideally positioned for businesses looking to move goods in and out efficiently. Rail freight is an underused asset — each freight train removes up to 129 HGVs from our roads and cuts carbon emissions by 76% per tonne of freight moved compared to road transport.

There’s huge potential here, and I’ll continue working to ensure rail freight is better supported and utilised.