Proposal: Pegswood Parkway

Does Pegswood railway station have a lot of untapped potential?

While currently quite a quiet station – currently seeing only the ‘Chathill Flyer’ a few times a day, it might have great potential as a Parkway (Park and Ride) for the East Coast Mainline (ECML).

As can be seen from a satellite image, the station at Pegswood is situated almost adjacent to a large field, which is sandwiched between the ECML and the A197 ‘Pegswood Bypass’, this road itself being an east-west connection between the A1, A697 and A1068 and thus the bypass being an excellent road connection for a parkway station, with the A1 and A697 especially connecting the rural western areas of Northumberland.

While better public transport connections are the most desirable method of getting to/from stations, with such a rural and sparsely populated area west of the A1/ECML corridor, use of cars is highly likely to continue into the future but enabling this without causing congestion and air pollution within towns and villages is the the next best option and on this Pegswood could deliver.

Quick and Easy

A Pegswood Parkway could be a very quick and easy project; the station already exists, so the need to build a station isn’t needed, saving several million pounds (based on cost of £10.55 on Horden station for platforms plus bridge plus 100 space car park), not only that, but all of the road connections also exist so simply put, the main ‘construction’ needed would be a roundabout on the A197, a car park and a pedestrian access from said parking to/from the station.

A 196 space car park in nearby Alnwick was costed at a little under £1m in 2020, so a budget for works of around £1.5m for 200 space car park, addition of a roundabout on A197, and access to/from station is probably not too far from the mark.

Again as can be seen in above close up, a new path would need to run along northern edge of the park connecting to the top corner (north-east) of the field. This should be a relatively easy process as ample room exists, and offsetting loss of some land in the park could be easily made up in land gained from the adjacent field.

Relief of Morpeth Parking Problems

A large car park such as this could also help relieve pressure on the car parks in Morpeth both at the railway station itself, as well as in the town centre. Morpeth station has a constrained site, with little remaining room for car park expansion (other than vertically) and the Town Centre is often difficult to find a parking space at peak periods. Creating additional space at a site such as Pegswood Parkway would have several benefits;

1. Offering expansion of parking provision without the complexity/costs of doing so within the town itself.

2. Reducing road traffic into Morpeth itself, reducing issues such as congestion and air pollution, as well as allowing greater building density if land currently used for parking is reallocated to housing/businesses making the town centre much more walkable and pedestrian friendly. Transport to/from Morpeth could be via both bus and rail options, as both are well interconnected at Pegswood already (2 min walk from station).

3. Out of town parking can be much less time-sensitive for example providing at least 24hr parking as standard meaning visitors would be much less prone to ‘clock-watching’ to avoid parking charges, meaning longer visitor ‘dwell time’ in town and potential rise in incomes for businesses. 

Due to its location, the above could also apply to Ashington which similarly has issues with parking at peak periods (less pronounced than in Morpeth though), and use of 35 bus would provide Park and Ride element.

Rail service provision to Pegswood Parkway

The biggest issue to overcome at Pegswood is likely that of achieving a sufficient rail service; the three trains a day of the ‘Chathill Flyer’ wouldn’t really cut the mustard BUT again this is a relatively simple fix and a range of options available.

– Northumberland Coast Local Service

A local service, calling at all stations between Berwick and Newcastle, and with addition of Belford station has been proven viable (see here), with a report in 2020 reporting that space could be found if electric multiple units were used instead of diesel ones (visit link above for full details).

This would be a huge improvement and would also give opportunity for car-free travel and visiting along the picturesque Northumberland Coast AONB.

– Extension of Carlisle – Morpeth Services

A second option would be to extend current Carlisle service terminating at Morpeth now on to either Belford (effectively creating more Chathill Flyer services) or a shorter run could be achieved by utilising the existing and until recently used (c. 2013) Butterwell Junction as a turnback siding.

This option would also allow single seat rides to destinations such as the MetroCentre and beyond on the Tyne Valley Line.

– Local services to/from Northumberland Line

Beyond a local service running up and down the ECML between Newcastle and Berwick as mentioned above, another contender as a potential service could be a Berwick – Pegswood – Blyth – Newcastle route, which would connect many of the largest towns in Northumberland (Guidepost/Stakeford, Bedlington, Blyth, Cramlington (Newsham & Seaton Delaval stations will be relatively convenient for Cramlington residents/visitors), as well as connecting to North Tyneside via Northumberland Park.

– Calls by long distance operators (routed via Blyth)

A further option would see Pegswood become a stop on some long distance trains, this may be in addition to calls made at Morpeth, but perhaps more as an alternative to Morpeth, particularly if those long distance routes run via Blyth and the Northumberland Line, in which case Morpeth would be awkward to serve (as it would require train to reverse in the station).

No services have been mooted by operators on this route, but whilst likely slower than a route via ECML, it would take in significantly greater centres of population en-route as well as Blyth being an important and upcoming centre for business in the clean energy sector.

Positive for Pegswood

On balance, while it would mean the loss of some green space, the advantages economically to Pegswood would be significant, with much improved fast connectivity directly from the town to key centres such as Newcastle and if long distance services become a feature a much wider range of destinations both north and south.

With a link via the Pegswood Bypass rather than the roads within the village, its should contribute very little additional traffic within the village itself. This is in contrast to station sites such as existing Morpeth or Cramlington where increased car parking means additional vehicles coming into town, Pegswood can avoid such a situation.

All in all, this should be a net benefit to Pegswood, and deliverable at a fraction of the cost of a wholly new station with large car park being built.

Use what is there already better.

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