Today we heard the news that I was expecting – that the claimed summer opening would not be achieved. Even though I knew that by “summer” the project team meant September, simple maths, notably that Northern would need a minimum of 8 week driver training that could not start until after the Newsham Road Bridge was commissioned, was telling us that not even September could be achieved. I am however a bit surprised that a whole 3 months had been added on – new target month December 2024. There’s just the tiniest of hints from the Project Team Press Release that it might be possible to pull it forward a bit. We’ll have to wait and see. More positively, a number of key infrastructure milestones have been achieved this week or are scheduled for this coming weekend. I’m off for a bus ride over the new Newsham Road Bridge later today. And I’m hoping work will now be able to start on Bedlington’s platforms once diversion of the water main work is complete. We should also see empty trains running up and down the line as driver training commences. So, lots of positives even though the wait for that first passenger train will be just a few months longer. SENRUG’s Press Release responding to the delay is here.
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Seems like a massive project management failure to me, insisting it’s opening in summer until the last month of summer and then pushing the initial reopening back four months. I mean, seriously!! How can they not have known they were once again months behind schedule until the last month before reopening was allegedly to happen?
Trouble is, nobody will believe anything they say now unless they start sticking to all deadlines and make them happen without fail, whatever it takes.