That’s the message that SENRUG – The South East Northumberland Rail User Group – want to hear as the plan to re-open the Ashington Blyth & Tyne moved forward this week, with the publication of the technical report commissioned by the North East Assembly

It was SENRUG who first put forward plans for a phased re-opening of the line, and they are very pleased with the conclusions of the report which shows that extending the existing train from Newcastle to Morpeth down the line to Choppington and Bedlington as the first phase of a full reopening is both achievable and affordable.

Dennis Fancett, chairman of SENRUG, told us: “It not just Choppington and Bedlington that will benefit from this initiative. One of the options contained within the study includes establishing an evening service, so people returning from Newcastle to Cramlington and Morpeth, as well as those going to Choppington to Bedlington will have the benefit of an hourly rail service throughout the evening up till 11 pm, instead of the current situation where the last local train leaves at 6.30 pm”.

SENRUG are pleased with the attention their reopening plans are now receiving. They understand a second study has also been commissioned by Nexus looking at bringing trains back to the Northumberland Park – Ashington section, which SENRUG also wants to see reopened, along with a station at Woodhorn to serve the museum and Wansbeck hospital.

“If all the funding partners pull together, we could see trains returning to Bedlington in 2009” added Dennis.

To enable the public to show how much they support the scheme, SENRUG have set up an online petition to 10 Downing Street and are asking everyone who would use these trains or supports the scheme to log on and sign. The petition is at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ABTreopening and already has 400 signatures, but many more are needed. Free internet access is available at local libraries for those that don’t have it at home.

Also, this coming Saturday 19th May, a steam charter train is running round the line, proving yet again it is perfectly capable of handling passenger trains, and SENRUG hopes this will provoke more interest in reopening the line to regular, daily local passengers.

SENRUG have also been busy on other fronts. At their request, Northern Rail has now introduced their Duo Ticket offer from Cramlington and Morpeth. This means that if 2 adults are travelling together off peak on Northern services, the 2nd goes half price.

And Cramlington gets a new early morning weekday northbound train from 21st May – again at SENRUG’s request. A train will leave Cramlington at 06.12 calling at Morpeth, Alnwick & Chathill. By changing at Morpeth or Alnwick on to the following GNER service, Cramlington passengers can reach Edinburgh by 08.09 or Glasgow at 09.25. The new service will also be useful for shift workers returning to Cramlington after night work at Newcastle.

SENRUG is the pro-rail campaign group which is seeking to bring about improvements to rail services in the area. They are keen for new people to join and membership is only £5 per year. Send a cheque payable to SENRUG with your name and address to the membership secretary at 28 Bracken Ridge, Morpeth, NE61 3SY

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Notes to editors

1. SENRUG is the South East Northumberland Rail User Group and campaigns for improvements to existing rail services and for new services to be introduced. Since its formation 3 years ago, at its request, inter-city trains have been introduced at Morpeth station and a seasonal local Sunday service operated from Cramlington and Morpeth last Christmas.
2. SENRUG contact point John Earl Tel 01670 518 411 (Dennis Fancett is on holiday 14 – 23 May).
3. SENRUG has put forward plans for a phased reopening of the Ashington Blyth & Tyne railway line to passenger services. This is a fully maintained freight only line with many sections double tracked, but does not carry passenger trains.
4. The North East Assembly agreed that the phase 1 of SENRUG’s plans appeared viable and (along with other funding partners) commissioned a technical study to look at these plans in more depth. Phase 1 involves reopening of the Morpeth - Choppington - Bedlington section. This would involve capital costs of approx £4.1m (equivalent to half a mile of dual carriageway road) and a small operating subsidy of between £50,000 and £75,000, dependant on the timetable option chosen. Contact at North East Assembly is Dave Marshall on 0191 497 8459
5. The Steam Train Charter service running round the line on 19th May is not organised by SENRUG and is operated by the Railway Touring Company based in Kings Lynn. Telephone 01553-661500. SENRUG understands the steam train will leave Newcastle at 14.07, travel via Newsham, Bedlington and Choppington and arrive at Morpeth at 15.26, but these times are given in good faith only.
6. The new Duo Ticket offer and early morning service from Cramlington have been introduced by Northern Rail. Contact Kathryn O’Brien on 07799 864211