A recent Chronicle article suggested that the recent investment by Blackstone into Cambois could be ploughed back into the local area to realise expansion of the Northumberland Line, in this case toward Newbiggin by the Sea.
While expansion to Newbiggin is welcomed, why not also consider the Northumberland Coast Loop (N.C.L.)?
With N.C.L. services in place, it would give the Blyth Estuary area (Bedlington, Cambois, and Blyth) better direct connections to/from North Northumberland, and Scotland.
Given that the now Blackstone owned Cambois site may bring a £10bn investment into the area; giving connections to cities such as Edinburgh, York and possibly even London could pay dividends.
The route would utilise the existing East Coast Main Line (ECML), and Northumberland Lines, joined by the existing Hepscott Line, & Morpeth North Curve to create the loop route.
It doesn’t require new track or even platforms to make happen (it would use existing ECML stations and those being built for the Northumberland Line), a few million invested into this route could bring hundreds of millions more investment along, as sites with easy connectivity around the UK tend to fare better than those without such connectivity.
Invest East Coast for example puts one third of the UK population and 47% of the UK’s economic output within 20mins of ECML stations, which typically seen as a single line of route between Edinburgh Waverley and Kings Cross; but the West Coast Main Line is more a ‘braided route’ with same start and end points but multiple options on the way. The N.C.L. could be part of a greater braiding of the ECML and bring its benefits to other places; going between Newcastle and Edinburgh could be done via two routes, one via Cramlington, but the other via Blyth, the latter slightly slower but beside a major industrial and commercial area and with major population centres too.
Importantly, it isn’t just the Blackstone site that would benefit but the wider SE Northumberland, and North Tyneside areas, which are home to many national and multinational companies, to whom easier direct connections by rail to far-flung part s of the UK could be a positive advantage. For example boosting the connectivity of Cobalt Business Park will in turn boost its competitiveness.
Make use of this existing asset to the area first?
If you agree, please take a look at the petition here: https://chng.it/f6MGxdzXfJ
The Northumberland Coast Loop 