Rail Talk
The new timetable shows North Northumberland needs better rail services. All options must be on the table.
I want to see the revival of rail services in my constituency of North Northumberland.
The recent East Coast Mainline timetable changes do not serve all of my constituents. North Northumberland needs better rail services, and all options must be on the table.
The ECML timetable should update twice a year. But this new review is the first in four years. This mean as a new MP I was not able to meaningfully change the direction of the conversation. So I hope we will see the return of bi-annual reviews.
Last week I attended a public meeting with Chathill Rail User Group, who are campaigning for a proper service at Chathill station. At that meeting it was stressed how recent updates to the East Coast Mainline (ECML) timetable will squeeze services out of Berwick and Morpeth at the expense of the Edinburgh-London flyover services, while doing nothing for villages like Chathill.
Once again, local communities feel the pain so that the cities can thrive. Rail is not good enough in North Northumberland.
Our local success stories speak for themselves: the growing cultural influence of Berwick; the economic success of Morpeth; and the community spirit of of Chathill, Pegswood, Acklington, and Widdrington. I’m disappointed that all of these places will now be worse served by rail at peak times – especially Chathill – following the timetable changes, despite an increase in the number of services.
No-one in North Northumberland will be surprised that the North-East makes up just 1% of rail passenger journeys in Britain, and in 2024 the NE had the lowest transport spend of any region in England.[1] Where investment is low, demand follows suit.
But the Northumberland Line (NL) is hard to ignore: 500,000 passenger journeys in just eight months,[2] effective planning and delivery,[3] and the restoring of dignity and economy to Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth, Bedlington, and Ashington. A railway station tells a town it matters – that people want to journey there from other places and live there while working far away. The NL rejects the narrative that Britain can’t deliver.
I am approaching Network Rail and other stakeholder groups to discuss reviving rail in North Northumberland.
I want all options to be on the table, from fitting stopping services into existing timetable gaps through to securing massive investment in an entirely new line: a ‘North Northumberland Line’. Nothing should be ruled out.
I will work with the North-East Combined Authority and Labour Mayor Kim McGuinness, who is beginning work on a better transport system for the whole North-East.
I will be lobbying for services that serve the people of North Northumberland, whether for commuting, visiting loved ones, or late nights out at the weekend.
And in the very long-run I will be pushing for serious investment in new passenger services across my constituency, so that every community can choose rail.
North Northumberland deserves better.
[1] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2025-0170/CDP-2025-0170.pdf
[2] https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/news/major-milestone-marked-half-million-journeys-are-made-northumberland-line
[3] Private Eye, 22nd August-4th Sept 2025, ‘Signal Failures’, pg17
