Positive news about Northumberland rail

THE article over a new rail timetable in Northumberland (December 14) puts an unduly negative spin on what is predominantly a positive rail story for Northumberland.

We now have five trains per day each way linking Morpeth, Alnmouth and Berwick.

Previously, there was no direct service between Morpeth and Berwick for a gap of over six hours without going back to Newcastle and changing.

SENRUG has been seeking to rectify this for years. So well done, TPE, for introducing the service.

Yes, we are disappointed Cramlington and Widdrington have been left out, and we’ll continue to campaign to improve services at these stations.

Cramlington does however get the earlier morning service – again something SENRUG has been calling for, meaning Cramlington commuters can now reach Newcastle before 07.30, a whole hour earlier than before.

SENRUG’s ongoing campaigning has secured a significant improvement to the county’s rail services, and while we haven’t got everything that was promised in earlier statements from the rail industry, we nevertheless welcome this new service and applaud the rail industry for introducing it in such commendable speed.

I encourage everyone to use the service as much as possible, and here at SENRUG we will continue to campaign for better rail services at Cramlington and at all the smaller stations in Northumberland, including Widdrington.

We invite readers who support our campaigns to join us at www.senrug.co.uk

Dennis Fancett, Chair,

SENRUG: The South East Northumberland

Rail User Group