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October

Duchess of Sutherland
06/10/05

It was good to see in this week's Herald&Post (if not in the Morpeth Herald) an excellent article about the passenger steam train's visit to Northumberland on October 1st. Travelling along the Ashington, Blyth & Tyne line, its journey publicised the possibility of opening the line to regular passenger transport. Well done Richard (Hilton) for your enthusiastic comments!

Recently, I have travelled on two commuter branch lines which have regular, well-run services transporting probably more passengers than travel by train to & from Northumberland. Future numbers would increase if such a good service could be provided here. The Ilkley/Leeds line (Northern Rail) is monitored by the Wharfedale Rail Users Group (who probably campaigned for new trains etc) and the Henley/Reading/Paddington line is run by Great Western Link.

Maybe Mr Branson could be approached to run "Virgin Link" if services north of Morpeth are threatened with closure. As long as they run on time and have functioning toilets.... How about Costa serving coffee at Morpeth station to warm the cockles on cold winter mornings?

Enough rambling - still recovering from my record eleven-hour journey from Somerset ten days ago. The train crawled from Bristol to Birmingham, round the houses, due to engineering works.

Ro Matheson

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Oct 1st Railtour
01/10/05

Dear Sirs;

Just to say how fantastic it was to see a passenger train on the A&BT line, let alone the magnificent steam loco 'Duchess Of Sutherland'. A truly impressive sight. I have included a photo of her crossing the road at Coopies Lane, Morpeth, prior to joining the ECML.

Regards,

John Ford.

Download full-size image 1024x768 544kb

September

20/09/05

[Original sent to Northern Rail Customer Relations department]

I commute daily on Northern rail services between Pegswood, Morpeth and Newcastle. The change of operating company from Arriva to Northern has, in some ways brought about some positive changes - for example, the punctuality of the service arriving in Pegswood in the morning has improved greatly. However, one major frustration remains and was brought to the fore this morning.

The rolling stock provided for the rush hour Northern services along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) are just too small. This morning, there were people standing from Morpeth. By the time the Cramlington passengers had boarded, there was barely any standing room. Bare in mind also that this morning's service was operated using a Class 156 - had a 142 been used (like yesterday) I doubt there would have been room for passengers at Cramlington to board.

My understanding is that the last national rise in fares was to afford investment in rolling stock. Since that price rise, I have seen very little change in the rolling stock provided for the services I use i.e. some trains have had a new "paint job". I understand that some of the investment will be spent where I cannot see it e.g. engine improvements/maintenance. However I am frustrated to still be seeing old, tired Class 142's in use. At times, 156's are also not big enough to carry the passenger load e.g. this morning.

Would it not be sensible to switch to using Class 158's for the rush hour services? Larger, more comfortable trains for existing passengers and perhaps the chance of attracting new customers would surely be a good thing. I appreciate that 158's would be too big to run at some times but I think that they would be viable in rush hour.

I would welcome your comments on the current rolling stock used for the Northern rail services during the rush hour on the ECML and any news you have on proposed train replacements (with newer stock) and refurbishment.

Thank you,
Tom Bramald

May

05/05/05

I fully agree with SB of Ashington (28.03.05) who supports the re-introduction of a passenger rail service in Ashington. I could not have worded better, my annoyance at the alleged "express" buses myself. It is high time the people in power put thought to those who live in areas such as Ashington and Wansbeck. We are left to suffer, and the North East as a whole has suffered more than their fair share of rail cuts over the years. I think that the re-introduction of this rail service would help the residents and visitors alike. Northumberland is supposed to be a Tourist area, so put the trains on the tracks and we will all benefit from a quicker way to travel, especially when the new Woodhorn Museum is opened.

JB, Ashington

April

30/04/05

I too am dismayed at the proposals to cut train services to and from Morpeth, particularly the inter city services.

I am all in favour of opening as many lines as possible for passenger traffic, the former Blyth and Tyne seems an obvious one to start with, it is a pity the route between Ashington and Pegswood has been lost as this would have provided extra links and made the operation of local trains in the area much easier (in my opinion). Perhaps it is not irretrievably lost though.

The route between Ashington and Benton Quarry where it joins the main line north of Heaton yard is however a tortuous one and journey times may well not be much different from the "express" buses which have been plying the route to Newcastle for the best part of 100 years now, but the train would be advantageous for commuters wishing to be delivered to the southern part of Newcastle centre and of course for travellers wishing to connect onto trains for longer journeys.

A note on why these buses have an X prefix - this was to distinguish between those using the Seaton Burn bypass and ones serving Wideopen. As none now serve Wideopen maybe it is time to renumber them all, especially since after 10 am they stop at every stop between Brunton Lane and the Regent Centre so hardly qualify as 'fast'.

Tony Medd

March

Ashington to Newcastle
28/03/05

Dear Senrug, here is my argument and plea for a rail service to Ashington from Newcastle.

I would like to press forward the desire and need for the rail line to re-opened between Ashington, Blyth / Bedlington to Newcastle. Ashington as an industrial center has declined over the years, as is well known by all who live in the locality. The socio economic context in Ashington is different to the era to when the Beeching rail cuts were made many years ago. People then had no pressing need for a rail link to Newcastle as employment was served by the local industry that thrived in that particular time.

I think it is essential to ensure that people are able to travel to Newcastle for the benefits of work and study, in a fast, efficient, comfortable manner. The supply of jobs in the locality can never match that of Newcastle. So, to enable people in Ashington to travel to Newcastle to work and study, a rail link would be a great boost to the town. I am forced to rely upon the despicable Arriva monopolised bus service to Newcastle, to get to my place of work. I travel 10.5 hours on top of my 37.5 hour week on a bus that is dirty, uncomfortable, under ventilated, slow, expensive, mind-bendingly boring to put in a full weeks work! I arrive at work stressed and in a foul mood as a result of this 'service'. I am convinced that there would be a great demand for a quality rail service if you surveyed the users of the several X31/X32/X33 (why they are labelled as express buses I have no idea!) Arriva buses to Newcastle

The benefits to the environment of a rail link are also obvious. So, develop the rail link to Newcastle from Ashington now!

Yours sincerely,
SB Ashington.

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Train Service
07/03/2005

Why is it that whilst I pay a monthly pass fee of £73 to travel from Morpeth to Newcastle the conductor often cannot be bothered to collect daily fares?

Thus, today the 8am to Newcastle and the return 5.17 pm to Morpeth was full and yet not one fare was collected.

I am, therefore, subsidising others and I read in the Morpeth Herald that the Rail companies do not feel that the services are widely used or profitable. No wonder. How much income has been lost today alone, on a train say carrying in excess of 120 passengers.

Additionally why is it that the morning train is bigger and allows everyone a seat, whilst on the return we stand most of the way back? Cannot some one see that the train size is inadequate? Great vlaue for £73.

The 5.45pm train is also becoming busier and to think of cutting services is laughable. If anything at peak times it is inadequate.

The 8.29am is often delayed by the inter city express and arrives in Newcastle too late to be at your desk for 9am, and say a 8.20 departure would be more beneficial for many.

I am sure if you took a straw poll on these services you would get some meaningful opinions and truths re the services offered.

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SENRUG Web Site
03/03/2005

Dear Committee,

Congratulations on getting the SENRUG web site up and running. You have done an excellent job and have obviously put a lot of time into this. I find that there is so much useful and informative information and that it is up to date.

How about arranging a link from the web sites of Northumberland County Council, Morpeth Town Council, Castle Morpeth, Morpeth Net and others. May I suggest you contact the web masters and ask them to give you a link. There is no other way that the public can so conveniently access information about the rail services.

Regards,
Ronald Hunt.