Northumberland rail campaigners remain critical of the new East Coast Main Line timetable which is to be implemented from the end of this year.
LNER revealed the new industry-wide timetable, which has been in the works since 2021, had been given the green light by the Department for Transport on Wednesday, December 18. The timetable sees LNER services increased from two to three trains per hour between Newcastle and London King’s Cross.
It also shaves journey times between the Scottish and English capitals, with predictions that faster journeys could see rail’s share of the travel market between the cities rise to 60%. However, shorter journey times mean that there will be fewer stops at smaller stations, with Northumberland stations Berwick, Alnmouth and Morpeth all losing LNER services.
There will be an increase from five to eight TransPennine Express services from Newcastle to Edinburgh. However, campaigners have already claimed that the county’s rail needs have been ignored with the new timetable, while a leading Northumberland councillor called the timetable a “slap in the face” for Northumberland.
Now, the South East Northumberland Rail Users Group (SENRUG) have called on rail companies and the Government to make changes to the timetable to deliver a fair deal to Northumberland passengers and businesses. Dennis Fancett, SENRUG chair, said: “Overall this timetable remains bad for our region.
“Whilst we would support the objective of providing more train capacity between London and Edinburgh, this should not be achieved by reducing services in Northumberland. Additional infrastructure should be provided first to allow the extra London – Edinburgh trains to run without slashing regional and local services.”
Mr Fancett pointed to the fact that a morning service to Aberdeen will no longer call at Morpeth, making travel for oil industry workers commuting to and from South East Northumberland more difficult; and the withdrawal of Northern services from Morpeth to the MetroCentre and Hexham.
LNER says that passengers can still make it to Aberdeen by making a change at Edinburgh Waverley. Northern indicated that passengers would have to change trains at Newcastle to make their journeys.
He said: “None of the above can be justified by cutting 10 minutes off a London to Edinburgh journey. We request that even at this late stage tweaks can be made which address the issues we have consistently raised, and deliver a fair deal to Northumberland passengers and businesses.”
Dennis Fancett, chair of SENRUG
Mr Fancett also said that Alnmouth with lose its 8.10am CrossCountry service, used heavily by college students and commuters travelling to Newcastle. However, CrossCountry say that this is an error in the draft timetable and the service is expected to continue as normal.
Northumberland County Councillor for Berwick East Georgina Hill, who launched a petition for later services to Berwick from Scotland and the south which racked up more than 3,600 signatures, finally has got her wish, with services to Berwick at 10pm from Edinburgh and 11.05pm from Newcastle. However, she is disappointed that the town is losing LNER services.
She said: “Later trains are important and have been central to my campaign but we need better connectivity altogether. Unfortunately, the Government and rail companies still just don’t get the needs of the north and the more rural areas.
“They think shaving a few minute off national train times is the top priority when it simply isn’t especially when it impacts what really should be the top priorities. We are going to have to campaign hard on this coming into the new year.”
An LNER spokesperson said: “LNER will continue to serve Morpeth with services throughout the day. We’ve worked closely with other rail operators to make sure there is strong local and national connectivity.
“We recognise the industry’s enhancements may not satisfy everyone, but the proposed timetable will be of benefit to the greatest number of customers across the north.”
Regarding Morpeth losing direct trains to Hexham and the MetroCentre, a Northern spokesperson said: “This is an industry change which will deliver lots of benefits, including more services, seats and faster journeys.
“A small number of our customers will find their journeys are different after the new timetable is introduced and some may have to change trains. We are constantly reviewing our timetables and look to make changes which can improve services for customers wherever possible.”
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