Another briefing, this time in Manchester, giving me an opportunity to try out Manchester’s new tram from Victoria Station to Piccadilly Gardens. Our main interest in the new TPE service is that they will extend an hourly service from Newcastle to Edinburgh from 2019, stopping at Morpeth. But I was disconcerted to hear this plan is technically dependant on TPE getting the track access rights which are not yet “in the bag”. Informal discussion after the meeting suggested this is just a formality and the new service is definitely coming. I certainly hope so. But I’m getting more and more worried there will still be capacity on the 3 miles from Newcastle to Benton Junction that our much campaigned for Ashington Blyth & Tyne line re-opening is going to need.
