In the article, it quotes Mr Lavery MP with one and a half million journeys having been taken on the line since it opened on 15th December 2024, just over 18 months ago.
Newbiggin + North Northumberland and Scotland?
We welcome the investment into the route to extend to Newbiggin by the Sea, but as noted in the article, this is perhaps more challenging in some respects as the line into the seaside village was dismantled many years ago, and there may be a need to undertake works to raise the embankment to be able to join the existing line to Lynemouth Power Station to cross the A189, or to build a new adjacent span over the road.
In contrast though, the proposed Northumberland Coast Loop, as an active, regularly used line, doesn’t require any new track to be laid on a disused embankment; it is all there and ready to be used, as can be seen from the image below of Hepscott level crossing.
Using the line through Hepscott to transform part of the Northumberland Line (Newcastle to Bedlington) into part of a long distance route would hold several advantages; it would make access to, from, and within Northumberland/North Tyneside easier, faster and safer; a direct rail service reduces the number of connections needed to connect by public transport from towns such as from Berwick to Blyth for employment, training, and education.
A rail connection would also be far faster, cutting the existing Berwick to Blyth journey via Newcastle Central by around 50 minutes in each direction.
The effect of modal shift to rail would also mean a major safety improvement compared to reliance on the road network; with rail travel being far safer than travel by car, thereby saving lives and avoiding injuries.
Lets hope that as part of the debate around extension of the Northumberland Line, the Northumberland Coast Loop also gets raised by the MP’s en-route (Emma Foody MP, Ian Lavery MP, and David Smith MP), as well as Mayor Kim McGuinness.
There would be room to do BOTH the Newbiggin extension as well as the Northumberland Coast Loop, it doesn’t need to be an either/or, we could and should have both routes made available, not just one.
As the campaign stands so far, the petition for the Northumberland Coast Loop route now stands at 1,465 signatures.
If you can, please reach out to your MP, and local councillors if you live in the area, I know of several people who have done so already, and I have been in touch with both Ian Lavery MP’s office, as well as spoke to David Smith MP directly about this route, so it is certainly on the radar!
As ever, please feel free to share this blog post far and wide with friends and family to keep the momentum up, and if you live in the North East, please also consider joining NEPTUG, which covers public transport across the North East as a whole.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 