A quick update on the Northumberland Coast Loop petitions to start with:
Newcastle – Bedlington – Edinburgh Rail Service
The petition for a rail service on the Newcastle – Bedlington – Edinburgh route has now reached 544 signatures, and continues to grow daily, thank you to all who’ve signed so far and if you haven’t already, please sign in using the link above.
This route is intended to complement existing ECML services between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Morpeth and Cramlington, with the ‘loop’ via Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, and Northumberland Park intended to better connect these large communities well to the east of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) into North Northumberland and Scotland directly, rather than having to connect via Newcastle or Morpeth.
Alnwick – Alnmouth Station – Amble ‘Bus Meets Train’ Service
The next petition is a for a dedicated ‘bus meets train’ shuttle serving the non-rail connected towns of Alnwick and Amble, which is currently standing at 465 signatures.
This service would aim to better connect the towns of Alnwick and Amble, both some miles away from the ECML to west and east respectively by providing a better bus service linking both towns to Alnmouth Station. Work is ongoing on this in the background, so watch this space!
Reopening Choppington Station
This petition to reopen Choppington station on the line between Bedlington, Morpeth, and Pegswood has only just launched in the last few days; but has already attracted 17 signatures of support.
Choppington station would have a strong case for reopening now; having closed to regular services in 1950, and fully closing in 1964. Since that time, however, housing stock in surrounding towns nearby has grown significantly, with ongoing developments in Bedlington and Scotland Gate only bringing greater population density to the area and better justification for the station to reopen.
Reopening Choppington Station would open up the opportunity for someone living in Scotland Gate to travel to Scotland, hence the title of this blog post.
More widely, the three petitions combined are part of an overall improvement in public transport in Northumberland; the N.C.L. rail route provides a stronger spine of rail services along the Northumberland Coast, giving fast, direct, and comfortable connections from Berwick to Blyth and into North Tyneside. Buses linking Alnwick and Amble into Alnmouth can be used by all rail users, not just those on the N.C.L., and makes car-free tourism far more viable as an option, and finally a new station at Choppington would better serve communities such as the ‘top end’ of Bedlington, Choppington, Scotland Gate, Guide Post, and Stakeford.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 