Busy day today with two meetings, both at County Hall. The first was to discuss how the bus services at Morpeth Station Bus Turning Circle can be better promoted. SENRUG is particularly keen to highlight the almost hourly weekday service from the bus station to the railway station, and the through journeys from the railway station to Lancaster Park. The second meeting was to receive an update report on the Ashington Blyth & Tyne re-opening, which the Council are now calling the Northumberland Line. Work is now going ahead with further design and costing studies from Network Rail, associated scoping work from external consultants, and preparation of a bid to the DfT “Transforming Cities” Fund. The Council expect all this work to be completed by the end of 2019 and believe that if the funding application is successful, trains could be running by 2022. Let’s hope so.
