Following last week’s report that Bebside station might be dropped from The Northumberland Line project, a further article in Saturday’s Chronicle Live reports on a meeting between Blyth Valley MP Ian Levy and Transport Minister Chris Heaton Harris, in which Mr Heaton Harris says all 6 stations will be included. We are grateful for that assurance. However, there was no mention of the other cost-cutting possibility, namely reducing from 2 trains per hour to 1 (presumably by cutting back on the double tracking). But North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll has today posted on his Facebook page that he has also spoken to Chris Heaton Harris who confirmed that the project will be delivered with all six stations and two trains each way per hour. SENRUG does not deny the need for cost cutting, but this must be done without any reduction in passenger functionality, ie the stations, number of trains per hour and overall journey times. We will remain vigilant as we enter into what is hopefully the last 2 years of our long-running 15-year campaign to get passenger trains re-instated on this line.
