The petition for a Newcastle to Edinburgh rail service via Bedlington & Pegswood is close to reaching 500 signatures, with 474 having signed it to date. This petition will continue until such a time as a service is trialled over the proposed route, as outlined below in the two maps. If you would like toContinue reading “Route Of The Rambler! News on the Newcastle – Bedlington – Edinburgh Rail Service Petition 6.6.25”
Category Archives: ECML
Petition Progress – 761 Signatures Towards Better Northumberland Rail and Bus Services
Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park As of the 10th May 2025, the petition to ‘Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park‘ has gained 330 signatures. This route would better enable ‘within Northumberland’ trips by rail, such as Berwick and Alnmouth (forContinue reading “Petition Progress – 761 Signatures Towards Better Northumberland Rail and Bus Services”
The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations
Inspired by the latest Railnatter episode (No. 258 ‘Data, maps and how to use them (with Will Deakin), it revealed some sources of data to augment the case for direct northbound rail travel from stations now opened and soon to open on the Northumberland Line. One of these sources was railwaydata.co.uk, which was used toContinue reading “The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations”
A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.
Keswick: A ‘Virtual’ Railway Station for the Lake District town? A recent article from Rail Advent has shown an interesting way that the town of Keswick, in Cumbria, has gained a new ‘station’ on the national network, served not by trains, but by buses. In the article, it describes how Keswick has a ‘virtual railwayContinue reading “A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.”
Call to Kim McGuinness: Invest in the ECML and N.C.L. in Northumberland, and drop dualling the A1.
There has been a recent, and largely very welcome announcement in recent days about a £208m transport investment, part of a larger overall ‘£8.3bn transport vision’ which includes welcome schemes such as reopening of the Leamside Line, integrated ticketing, and wider public transport and active travel improvements. That being said, dualling the A1 has onceContinue reading “Call to Kim McGuinness: Invest in the ECML and N.C.L. in Northumberland, and drop dualling the A1.”
Response to David Smith MP, North Northumberland on A1 Junction Improvements, BUT is improving and upgrading ECML the real solution?
As a Northumberland resident and a frequent user personally of the A1, it was very welcome to see David Smith, MP for North Northumberland meeting with officials from National Highways to show them several problematic junctions along this stretch of road between Morpeth and Berwick. For those unfamiliar with it, it is a mixed routeContinue reading “Response to David Smith MP, North Northumberland on A1 Junction Improvements, BUT is improving and upgrading ECML the real solution?”
The Alnmouth (for Alnwick) Late Afternoon Timetable Gap
A recent social media post on the Aln, Blyth, and Tyne Railway (Northumberland Line & Beyond) Facebook group by member L.M. highlighted a 2hr 34min gap in the Newcastle bound timetable for midweek departures. A link to the excellent Realtime Trains website, showing services between Alnmouth and Newcastle only shows this really well, with theContinue reading “The Alnmouth (for Alnwick) Late Afternoon Timetable Gap”
The Tweed, Blyth and Tyne Line For Beautiful Northumberland By Rail?
A recent social media post (shown below), from Northumberland County Council is marketing the Northumberland Line as ‘scenic journey through the heart of the county’ with ‘historic stations and breathtaking landscapes’ making it ‘a true gem of the North East’. While the above does certainly hold true; the Northumberland Line is and will be aContinue reading “The Tweed, Blyth and Tyne Line For Beautiful Northumberland By Rail?”
Developing The Northumberland Coast Loop: Better Than Dualling The A1?
Building on this blog post that opposes further dualling of the A1 in Northumberland, could the Northumberland Coast Loop (N.C.L.) be part of the alternative investment? The premise of the N.C.L. is to provide large towns such as Blyth, and areas such as North Tyneside a direct rail link northwards, by using the existing freightContinue reading “Developing The Northumberland Coast Loop: Better Than Dualling The A1?”
Reprieve for the 08:10 CrossCountry service from Alnmouth?
This recent article from the BBC suggests that the highly popular 08:10 CrossCountry service from Alnmouth (for Alnwick) might survive the December 2025 ECML timetable change, though this is not yet certain. CrossCountry wish to maintain the service serving Alnmouth, and as a very popular on (around 100 daily users of this train are quotedContinue reading “Reprieve for the 08:10 CrossCountry service from Alnmouth?”
The Northumberland Coast Loop 