Railway station approved for James Cook Hospital
Trains will call at a Teesside hospital from next year after plans were approved for a new railway station.
Up to 16 services a day will call at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, with construction expected to finish by March 2014.
Funding for the new station was secured by a Tees Valley Unlimited bid to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
Middlesbrough Council hopes road traffic around the hospital will be substantially reduced.
The station will be to the south of the hospital and its facilities will be lit and covered by CCTV.
Existing services on the Esk Valley line will call at the new stop along with an additional four trains re-routed from Middlesbrough to terminate at Nunthorpe.
Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, said: "This investment in Middlesbrough will make it easier for people to use public transport.
"It will be used to access the area as a destination for employment, health appointments, leisure trips and cultural activities."
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the station had been "talked about" for 25 years.