East Coast line plans in reverse
CONTROVERSIAL proposed changes to the timetable on the East Coast Mainline will not go ahead this December after all.
Rail industry chiefs had previously indicated that they would make major changes to the line at the end of the year, running a third fast service per hour between London and Newcastle.
However, the plans were made with fury in Northumberland as the changes would have meant less trains stopping at communities such as Berwick and Morpeth.
It would have meant that only one train would be able to run from Newcastle to Manchester every hour rather than two due to tight constraints on the number of trains physically able to run on the line.
In December, a furious Glen Sanderson, the Conservative leader of Northumberland County Council, called the plans “ridiculous”, “stupid”, and “reprehensible”.
Now, the changes have been shelved after bosses at Network Rail felt there were “too many issues” to deliver the new timetable in December.
Director of Network Performance Chris Curtis said Network Rail was “committed” to finding a way to deliver “benefits to passengers and freight users” as soon as possible.
He said: “Following lessons learned from introducing major new timetables, the industry steering group that oversees timetable introduction has concluded that there are too many outstanding issues to have confidence that the new East Coast Main Line timetable can be delivered robustly in December.
“We are all committed to working urgently together to find a way to deliver the benefits to passengers and freight users as soon as we can.”
Following the announcement, Labour’s Kim McGuinness criticised the Government over the failure to implement any changes.
She said: “Fourteen years of underinvestment in the North East rail network have now come home to roost. It feels like every month we see a new railway failing from this Government.”
On the other hand, Conservative councillor and deputy leader of Northumberland County Council Richard Wearmouth welcomed the news.
He said: “We feel this is an opportunity to create more local services that will benefit several Northumberland communities.”
LNER had previously said the proposals would deliver more services to and from the North East, but admitted the changes “may not satisfy everyone”.