North East Combined Authority publishes “ METROFUTURES – The combined future of Metro and local rail in the North East”. This document shows that a local rail route will be established to Ashington via the existing heavy rail freight route as per the SENRUG campaign (and not via the longer Metro route between Newcastle and Northumberland Park). However the document is widely mis-reported in both local TV and press as a proposed Metro extension to Ashington. Correspondence between Chair of SENRUG and Director of Rail at NECA confirms the plan remains exactly as the SENRUG campaign, although greater integration of heavy rail and metro, with a physical connection between the 2 systems at Northumberland Park is envisaged.
