A busy day today. I had a call scheduled with RDG (Rail Delivery Group – formerly the Association of Train Operators) – to discuss how best to persuade train companies to sell London CIV tickets (for onward Eurostar connections) through their online sales channels. This work is part of my responsibilities for Railfuture, where I serve as a member of their European Passenger Group. However, earlier in the day our local newspaper the News Post Leader posted an item on their website about Northumberland County Council seeking £3.5m to progress the Ashington Blyth & Tyne line re-opening on to its next phase, and saying they want to see trains running on the line by 2022. Very welcome news, though it’s not as yet clear to me what this “next phase” is and the Council are planning to brief me later this week. However, I presume it to be a package of work which includes the long-awaited GRIP 3 study – or something that replaces the need for that. Nevertheless, BBC Radio Newcastle were on the phone asking me for a comment and I did a brief telephone interview with them, which was broadcast around 16:25 that afternoon.
