Morpeth to Bebside or Newsham by rail?

Extending the current local rail service to Morpeth from Newcastle on to Bedlington (via a reopened Choppington & I would argue for a new Stobhill too) has been long since mooted but some different opinions hold on the reversal method at Bedlington; does it run over a level crossing into Furnace sidings and come back, does it stop, driver change ends and straight back out, or is this worth doing anyway?

Well to perhaps to change tack slightly, why doesn’t the train head a bit beyond Bedlington? Bearing in mind the layout at Bedlington, the only immediate option is heading broadly south along the Northumberland Line.

This proposal involves very little new track, perhaps only crossovers or maybe at a maximum a short siding or bay platform.

Bebside only

The next potential stop (though perhaps under threat) is Bebside, this station along with Newsham serves Blyth and the immediate area around it and has good connections to the A189 Spine Road. Reversal here should be much less complex, with the planned station well away from the level crossing on the A193 and the next level crossing to the south being quite some distance away.

Getting here from Bedlington should be achievable in a matter of minutes, so the additional time needed would probably be little more than running into Furnace sidings while giving direct access between Morpeth and Blyth, the latter being largest town in Northumberland.

Bebside and Newsham

Another option, though admittedly adding a little more time penalty would be to continue all the way to Newsham, this would then serve both Blyth stations, but Newsham would also arguably serve a lot of Cramlington too, with the additional benefit of only being a short distance from NSECH (Cramlington Hospital).

All stations between Blyth & Carlisle?

As these services originate/terminate in Carlisle, this means that Blyth, Bedlington and if reopened additionally Choppington would gain a direct service to places like the MetroCentre and stations alongside the Tyne Valley, and vice versa.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment below: