Thoughts on the Morpeth – Choppington – Bedlington Line & Beyond

The recent visit of a DMU (158 816) working a Newcastle – Bedlington – Morpeth – Newcastle diagram (train route) on 25.11.20 brought into focus the Morpeth Branch; the line linking Bedlington and Morpeth and how could this line see the return of passenger rail services.

Please note: All of the following is strictly my own thinking and does not represent that of any other individuals or organisations.

Newcastle – Morpeth – Choppington – Bedlington Service

It was actually this section of line which was first proposed for passenger reopening many years ago by SENRUG. This plan was to extend the Newcastle to Morpeth local train to Bedlington and back, with Choppington station being reopened too but sadly did not come to fruition.

If possible, such a service would be a useful and sensible extension to the existing one, allowing for more connections to be achieved while only needing minimal resources (new station at Choppington & perhaps some signalling changes)

The Northumberland Circle

One person on social media suggested that with the Northumberland Line hopefully reopening soon that the route taken by the 158 could form a kind of Northumberland Circle, this taking the above idea a stage further, with trains up the ECML to Morpeth, then east to Bedlington, back to Newcastle via the Northumberland Line and vice versa.

This second proposal has another advantage in that assuming a service 2 trains per hour service in each direction (2tph) around the circle in conjunction with a 2tph service all the way to Ashington would give a total of 4tph between Bedlington and Newcastle.

Capacity Problems?

The issue could be with either of these options, the capacity on the East Coast Mainline (ECML).

The ECML is a ‘mixed use railway’ meaning lots of different types of train are using the same lines, this in effect reduces capacity as non-stop Intercity trains need a large gap in front of them to ensure they don’t catch up with slower ones running in front.

Coupled with this, the demand for the route is high as a rail transport artery between England and Scotland, so pathing (finding an available time slot for the train to run) is challenging.

The demand for stopping trains at around 1-2tph from Newcastle to Berwick (with a similar service connecting north of the border) is a highly desirable one, and long campaigned for by SENRUG (NoMLS). This would connect Morpeth with all the other Northumberland Coast stations, but may mean the option of a Northumberland Circle or Newcastle-Morpeth-Bedlington service not being possible as paths may not be available.

New terminus at Morpeth

In my view though, we can look to history for a potential solution, as at one time a Blyth and Tyne Bay existed adjacent to what is now platform 1 and the track space now occupied by a car park.

If this bay platform was rebuilt, it would allow Morpeth to Bedlington services to operate independently of the ECML, and have cross platform interchange.

This would also mean until electrification of the Blyth and Tyne (Northumberland Line), a diesel unit could be employed for Morpeth-Bedlington or beyond while Newcastle to Berwick would become fully electric.

An approximate cost for such a platform to be added would have to be determined professionally but an intelligent guess would be at around £3-5m.

Bedlington or beyond?

While a shuttle plying back and forth between Morpeth and Bedlington would be an option for services, extension of them beyond Bedlington to the south would give the benefits of higher frequencies between stations south of Bedlington.

Through running to Newcastle could be one option, but perhaps adapting an idea from the Tyne and Wear Metro could see a ‘new’ branch down to Percy Main? This would see trains run a diagram independent of the ECML and therefore would not be tied to its constraints.

This article from The Planner in 2014 shows a map with a link line in red from Northumberland Park to Percy Main, using an partially disused line (part of it is used as the North Tyneside Steam Railway) with intermediate stops at Cobalt and Silverlink, with each being a major business centre and retail/leisure area respectively.

A station at Percy Main would lend itself well to a train/metro/bus interchange, with the latter ideally heading directly through the Tyne Tunnel for employment destinations in South Tyneside and Wearside, this hopefully helping to drive modal shift from personal cars to public transport.

Not only that, but close proximity to the DFDS ferry terminal offers opportunities to foot passengers to board trains nearby and travel by rail particularly to northward destinations much more quickly.

Rail freight could also present an opportunity in the area, particularly as loading freight on this side of the Tyne would avoid having to travel through Central Station on the way north.

The Stephenson Railway Museum/North Tyneside Steam Railway could also potentially benefit as outwardly ample space appears to be available to run in parallel to a reopened mainline. This could help raise the profile of the railway, and maybe even offer the opportunity for a mainline connection if desired.

As ever, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. RH.