Plans for £150m Darlington station revamp revealed
Plans to spend £150m on Darlington railway station so it can accommodate super-fast trains, have been unveiled.
Darlington Council wants to remodel the station with new platforms making it a "modern gateway" to the Tees Valley.
Council leader Bill Dixon said journey times needed to be cut to boost businesses and make them more competitive.
The council will ask the Department of Transport for the money and will find out if the bid is successful next year.
Mr Dixon said: "The £150m investment would see more frequent, faster services from Darlington across Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire.
"It is probably quicker to get to Brussels or Paris than it is to Birmingham and this, our business leaders tell me, affects their investment programmes."
If the station gets a revamp it will be able to take the new HS2 trains, cutting journey times to the UK's biggest cities - including to London - by 30 minutes, Mr Dixon said.
More than one million people use Darlington station each year.