Great to have another catch up with Alex today. She’s the Stakeholder Liaison Manager at Northern, responsible for managing the relationship with groups like SENRUG. Mainly we talked about where we’re up to with the Morpeth – Bedlington extension. At one point we had been told this would be implemented from the timetable change after Bedlington station opening. Alex assured me Northern has not gone cold on the idea. It is apparently being actively worked on, although Alex could not give any timescales. We also discussed Manors: SENRUG’s desire is to see all Northumberland Line and local Morpeth / Chathill trains stopping there, a 2nd platform built so trains on any of the 3 running lines could stop there, and level access provided, also fully integrating the station with the Metro station underneath and the adjacent multi-storey car park (which already has a lift to street level). That’s quite a big wish list, with some items outside of Northern’s control, but it’s good Northern to understand our full vision for the station.
