A recent article in The Chronicle is talking about both Newcastle and Durham Universities moving into the new Energy Central Institute, being built on the site of the former Keel Row shopping centre, and offering courses for students upto PHD level, and ‘provide life-long learning for Blyth residents and those from further afield‘
It’s yet another example of how Blyth, Northumberland, is changing for the better, with £95m of investment as part of the Energising Blyth Programme, bringing new jobs in green energy industries, and learning opportunities in conjunction with Newcastle and Durham Universities as above.
Where could the Northumberland Coast Loop fit into these developments?
Below is a screenshot taken from the ‘Energising Blyth’ webpage on the Northumberland County Council website, and the most relevant of the bullet points is the bottom on this screenshot, which reads:
‘Improve walking and cycling routes and connections to public transport networks, making it easier to travel to and from Blyth.‘
The Northumberland Coast Loop could be a major part of the public transport network serving Blyth, giving rapid and clean connections to North Northumberland and Scotland by running onto the ECML via Hepscott; and if part of a longer route running beyond Newcastle Upon Tyne, could also offer connections to other towns and cities on the Durham Coast such as Sunderland or Teesside, down the ECML towards Durham, York, and beyond, or along the Tyne Valley towards Carlisle.
East Linton Station Success; Blyth Bebside Could Be Boosted By The N.C.L?
A recent article in the East Lothian Courier, in December 2024 reported on the success of East Linton station, just over the border in Scotland, a year on since the station re-opened in December 2023, with ‘…the new station opened…linking it [East Linton] with Edinburgh, Newcastle and beyond.’
In total, 87,000 people used East Linton station in it’s first year; a fantastic figure for a fairly rural station in the Scottish Borders; but has a good level of service, and proves the old adage of ‘build it, and they will come’.
‘East Linton has 10 services north and 11 services south each day.’ From Allison Gosgrove, quoted in the above East Lothian Courier article.
While towns such as Blyth are still awaiting connection to the newly opened Northumberland Line, the Northumberland Line itself has had 50,000 users in it’s first month, far exceeding the 20,000 users of East Linton in it’s first three months. This is partially due to the Northumberland Line serving a much more urban area, with a greater population providing more potential passengers.
Same Service (Or Better) For Blyth Bebside?
With such strong figures for a small Scottish border town, the case for serving the significantly larger industrial town of Blyth with a similar service pattern surely speaks for itself?
It is a near certainty that a northbound rail service from Blyth Bebside matching that of East Linton (10 per day) would prove highly popular, especially given that Blyth Bebside would not only serve the town of Blyth, but also the large local communities surrounding Blyth.
Blyth Bebside station is within easy travelling distance, being just a few stops along the Northumberland Line from stations such as Ashington, avoiding travelling the wrong direction all the way to Newcastle to then head north again, near a major bus route into Blyth with good services already passing close by to the station, easy access for drivers by being just off the A189 Spine Road, and even being well connected by cycleways and footpaths.
While running additional trains on the Northumberland Line and East Coast Main Line (ECML) will likely have challenges due to limited surplus capacity; the fact that such services are proving so popular means that investment in these routes can be well justified, the Northumberland Line is far exceeding expectations, despite only being partially opened as of today (13.2.25).
With the track in place for the Northumberland Coast Loop route from Newcastle to Edinburgh via Blyth, it surely makes sense to use this route as soon as possible?
With growing support for the route, I have launched a new petition here.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 