Northumberland County Council, in conjunction with Northern, organise a special train to run round the the Northumberland Line as far as Newsham. Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling was on board along senior managers from Northern, Network Rail, Transport for the North and Nexus, and of course TV crews. SENRUG Chair Dennis Fancett was also invited to attend. A few days later the County Council signed off a funding package of £3.5m for the next phase including the “Develop” stage of Network Rail’s “Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline” (which includes work equivalent to the GRIP 3), further scoping work and preparation of a funding bid from the DfT’s “Transforming Cities” Fund. These 3 work packages all started later in the month.
Chris Grayling waits at Morpeth to join the special train round part of The Northumberland Line. Andrew Carmichael
Special Train round part of The Northumberland Line crosses the River Blyth at Bedlington Bank Top. Andrew Carmichael.
