What Is Proposed?

The Newcastle – Morpeth (formerly Carlisle – Newcastle – Morpeth) local service provided by Northern Trains should be extended beyond Morpeth, along the existing freight tracks, already cleared for passenger services and a diversionary route for long-distance trains such as LNER Azumas, to a new station at Choppington (where the line crosses the A1068 road) and then to Bedlington, connecting with Newcastle – Ashington trains on the Northumberland Line (Ashington Blyth & Tyne Line).

Why?

The new service would link Bedlington Station with Morpeth in 10 minutes, rather than the 28 minutes by bus. It would give Morpeth passengers a rail link to Northumberland Park and Ashington (and vice versa) by changing at Bedlington. The new station at Choppington would facilitate the regeneration of the Choppington and Scotland Gate area which includes some of the most economically disadvantaged Lower Super Economic Output Areas (LSOAs) in the whole of Northumberland and indeed in England.

The service would also give Bedlington Station a direct rail link to Cramlington, for access to jobs, shops and medical facilities.

How?

Now Bedlington station is fully opened, the Morpeth to Bedlington section could be introduced right away, with a single platform station at Choppington being built once the service is running.

The March 2007 Study instigated by the former North East Assembly calculated the run time from Morpeth to Bedlington to be 10 minutes each way, including an allowance for the stop at Choppington. Up to December 2025, Newcastle – Morpeth trains used to wait in the siding at Morpeth for between 36 and 46 minutes before returning to Newcastle. This is easily sufficient time for trains to run on to Bedlington, reverse and then back to Newcastle via Morpeth. However , from December 2025, the layover has been switched from Morpeth to Newcastle. Therefore either the northbound or southbound times for the Newcastle to Morpeth service would need to be re-timed to allow trains to run on to Bedlington and back. But no additional rolling stock would be required.

In the longer term, SENRUG recommends the stretch of track from one of the platforms at Bedlington station to the point where the double track towards Choppington reduces to single (a distance of some 630 meters) is bi-directional signalled, so that trains from Morpeth and Choppington could run onto a platform then reverse directly back to Morpeth, without needing to cross Bedlington South Level Crossing, into the reversing siding, then back onto the other platform. This would save 2 level crossing closures for each train movement (ie 2 level crossing closures per hour).

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