In the last few days, Northern has been offering a handful of preview trips over the Northumberland Line prior to opening, with Northumbria Rail recording a trip made on 20/11/2024 and uploaded to YouTube.
This video shows progress on the line and stations up to that date, with latest news being an announcement in next few days (at time of writing this post on 24/11/2024).
The interest in this video for the Northumberland Coast Loop comes between 17:00 to 18:40 in the video, where the train passes Bedlington Furnaceway sidings (where the railtour alluded to was the Blyth and Tyne Mini Tour operated by UK Railtours on 8th June 2024, I was also aboard and recorded my own video from Furnaceway Sidings to Morpeth).
As can be seen in the Northumbria Rail Video, the Hepscott Line branches off towards Morpeth and Pegswood, with the latter route offering the proposed connection from Bedlington towards North Northumberland and Scotland.
Whilst it is understandable that getting all six new Northumberland Line stations open (Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, and Northumberland Park) is the priority in the coming months, and allowing service to establish itself, the aim of this campaign is to see trains take the Hepscott Line heading north or coming from the north of Northumberland/Scotland towards Bedlington as soon a practicable after that point.
Time on a train is not time lost
While better connections into Central Station will certainly make rail travel more appealing by making changing trains easier, there is almost certainly a market for direct services; many people, especially those less familiar with using public transport, dislike changes of transport, especially for groups such as families with young children where the ability to settle into a carriage is much more convenient, even if the trip overall may be longer.
The same can be said for those travelling for business, where the ability to work on the move (at a laptop, iPad or similar) and not having to pack up for a change of train could be advantageous. With Blyth and the surrounding area seeking to attract nationally and even internationally important businesses, then rail links to other cities beyond Newcastle could help drive that investment, and with the route already in place, it could be a relatively inexpensive option for huge economic gains.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 