DAILY passenger services are returning to a North-East heritage line this summer almost 60 years after they were withdrawn.

The American owners of the Weardale Railway, in County Durham, announced plans yesterday for a new service between Stanhope and Shildon using a new link into main rail network at Bishop Auckland station.

Opening up the line to national traffic will bring spin-off benefits for the region's tourist industry, with talks under way on developing a rail corridor taking in centres such as Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon.

Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate travelled on the Weardale line on Monday checking bridges, fences, and road and footpath crossings along the 18-mile stretch between Stanhope and Bishop Auckland.

With only signage and other minor works to be completed, the way is cleared for a 12 coach charter train operated by UK Railtours to run from Kings Cross to Stanhope, via Shildon, on February 19.

Another charter company Spitfire Rail Tours have also included a visit to Stanhope in a tour from Crewe on February 27 and a third company is expected to be booking soon.

At the same time the railway is negotiating for contracts to transport stone and aggregates out of Weardale, angering some residents by proposing to load opencast coal mined in the Crook area at its depot in Wolsingham.

General manager Alistair Gregory said the line was taking a significant step forward.

He said: "With the addition of the railtour market and the provision of a community train service, 2010 is going to see a considerable growth in activity on the line due to the large capital injection into the railway by new owners British American Rail Services and also by the efforts of the over 100 Railway Trust volunteers who assist in operating the trains and work on the track and in the shops and catering facilities.

"Together the company and the trust are hoping to show that the Railway can make a positive contribution to the economy of Weardale by increasing tourist income and by providing an environmentally efficient means of travelling to and from the Dale."

George Muirhead, Locomotion's manager, said the development was great news.

He said: "We have already been having discussions with the railway about how we can work together to develop tourist traffic on the line."

Bob Whitehouse, from the Heritage Line Community Rail Partnership for Bishop Auckland and Darlington, said the new rail link would boost tourism and contribute to regeneration.

Before the trains run, the British Transport police will mount an operation to warn off people who have become used to using the railway as a footpath