The first steps have been taken to begin a multi-million-pound upgrade of the under-pressure Cumbrian coastal railway line.

An initial business case has been submitted to the Department for Transport to improve the line, which connects Barrow to Carlisle.

The Cumbrian Rail Programme Board – a group of businesses and organisations – says pressure on the line will significantly increase over the next 10 years.

Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, which is leading the plan, has committed investing £1 million of its Growth Deal funding and the Government is being asked for £9 million funding to move the plans forward.

The actual cost of the upgrade is unknown at this stage, but is thought ot be many millions of pounds.

The submission says the line will soon be unable to cope with increasing demands from business, local people and tourists.

Cumbria is due to attract over £60 billion of investment over the next few years.

Projects including West Cumbria Mining’s proposed new mine near Whitehaven, the planned new nuclear power station at Moorside, the new National Grid network and the Low Level Waste Repository at Drigg, plus decommissioning and waste management at Sellafield will see up to 172 million tonnes of freight moved around the coast.

The board says that amount of freight cannot be accommodated on the current rail line or on local roads without significant improvements.

The programme board has been working with the Department for Transport, Transport for the North and Network Rail over the last 18 months to make the case for improvements to the line.

The board is led by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, alongside NuGen, West Cumbria Mining, Sellafield Ltd, the Low Level Waste Repository, National Grid, Network Rail and Cumbria County Council.

Jim Jackson, board member of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “West Cumbria badly needs an upgraded coastal rail line so that it will be able to cope with future business demand – that’s important right now because there are businesses making decisions on major developments who need to know they will have the right rail capacity.

“The £60 billion of major investments planned for Cumbria will bring massive economic benefits to the area and the wider UK.

"However, the businesses making this investment will need to use rail to transport large amounts of freight, which means the line needs to be upgraded.

“Business will pay for some of these upgrades, but it is not feasible for them to fund all of the work, so we are asking for Government funding.

"It is also important that the work on the line is properly planned and co-ordinated so it can be carried out in the most cost-effective way.”

According to the Cumbrian Rail Programme Board, improvements to the line would directly support the creation of 18,450 jobs in West Cumbria and 5,600 jobs across the rest of the UK.

It would support over £10 billion of exports from West Cumbria Mining, the Moorside nuclear new build and be an energy transmission network to carry power to the National Grid.

The LEP has submitted the Strategic Outline Business Case to the Government, on behalf of the Cumbrian Rail Programme Board.

Councillor Keith Little, Cumbria County Council cabinet member for transport, said: "Improving the line will bring real benefits to local people and support major economic growth that would transform the area. We hope Government will give its full support to these proposals."