The Northumberland Coast Loop Petition is continuing to do well and gain signatures, now only 40 away from its next big target, please click the link above to view and hopefully join more than 500 others who have done so to date!
Our recent post about journey times via the existing East Coast Main Line (ECML) has captured many site visitors (about 60 each day) in the last few days using a very rudimentary table to show potential journey times, an updated table can be viewed below, which now shows a comparison between ECML local service (based on current ‘Chathill Flyer’, and semi-fast (served by multiple operators, hence range of times for Alnmouth & Berwick).
The route via Bedlington would only be, at worst case, about 35mins or so slower than ECML only services, meaning that journey times still remain highly competitive even with driving from stations such as Alnmouth and Berwick, and still much faster than buses, especially for journeys to/from SE Northumberland.
With such a relatively small time penalty incurred by this route, it could potentially be within a reasonable balance for an operator looking to extend services north of Newcastle to cities such as Edinburgh or Glasgow, but taking this route to serve the large communities of SE Northumberland more directly, and being non-abstractive from other operators?
For example, Grand Central service to/from Sunderland could be extended to Edinburgh or even Glasgow but use route via Bedlington to not abstract from other Newcastle – Edinburgh operators?
Grand Central could be a good fit for the N.C.L., as it would also give direct connectivity between the Northumberland and Durham Coast’s which is presently unserved by any operator, and could offer direct Teesside to Edinburgh connections too.
This is just one example, and any operator willing to serve the route would be welcomed.
As ever, if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave a comment here, or via our Social Media channels.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 