Scale back plans for new rail line, insist ministers
OFFICIALS have been ordered to scale back plans for the planned Northumberland Line rail line between Newcastle and Ashington.
The cuts, imposed as work on the scheme has barely begun, mean a proposed new station near Bebside, Blyth Valley, is likely to be axed.
Rail campaigners and Northumberland MPs celebrated when Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced in January that the Government would provide £4m towards re-opening the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
The money will pay for preparatory work, including land acquisition, detailed design work and early site works, paving the way for the line to reopen for passenger services after it was closed in the 1960s. Passenger trains are expected to start running in 2024.
New stations were planned at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham and Seaton Delaval. Trains will connect with the Metro at Northumberland Park, in North Tyneside.
But the Government has ordered a review of new rail projects, which it says is designed to cut costs and ensure they can be delivered sooner.
In a meeting with Treasury officials and Andrew Gilligan, Boris Johnson’s transport adviser, officials from Northumberland County Council were told to find cost savings. Options included cutting passenger services from two trains per hour to one, or cutting a planned station. An account of the private meeting seen by The Chronicle shows that officials agreed to draw up detailed proposals to remove Blyth Bebside Station from the scheme.
The account warns that this would risk “reputational damage from such a significant scope change”, and points out that land for the station has already been acquired by the council.
Under the plan, planning permission for the station would still be sought, so that it could be built in the future if money becomes available.
Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery said: “It is unbelievable that as planning permissions are being granted, the government are already looking to withdraw funding from the project. It is little wonder that the local Tories have been so keen to rename the stretch of track the Northumberland Line as, if these measures go ahead, who can be sure Ashington, Blyth or Tyne will be served by the rail link?
“This is a kick in the teeth for those of us who have worked for decades to get the investment to the stage it is at now and a betrayal of our communities who have been held back so long.”
The drive to cut costs appears to be part of a Department for Transport initiative called Project SPEED (Swift, Pragmatic and Efficient Enhancement Delivery), announced in February.
Northumberland County Council, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, and consultants AECOM worked together to identify opportunities to bring this into service as quickly as possible. The Department for Transport says this could take months off the schedule and deliver efficiencies which save millions from the programme.