The leading engineers' organisation has stated the importance of Metro reinvigoration to the future of North East England.
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) said Metro Re-Invigoration was among infrastructure improvements that needed to be implemented for proposed motoring charges to be acceptable.
ICE believes that public and private transport infrastructure improvements should be implemented, with a range of bodies working together to develop solutions which would allow economic growth to take place, including the renewal and modernisation of Metro and separate Nexus proposals for improvements to bus routes.
ICE's State of the Nation report 2006 highlighted problems including congestion in urban centres and the need for improvements to key roads in North East England.
ICE is part of the Green Light Group of organisations, brought together to investigate if, and how, the UK should introduce a nationwide system of road pricing. Among the group's recommendations is that the UK needs road pricing, but measures including infrastructure improvements must also be implemented.
John Jeffrey, chairman of ICE North East, said: "As part of the Green Light Group, we are calling on Government to put a timetable in place for road pricing to improve economic competitiveness, help the country meet environmental commitments and raise the quality of life for people. "But this must be implemented alongside a package of other works, most crucial for North East England being infrastructure improvements."
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