It might make sense for the Morpeth services to drop 1tph too so the effectively share the manors calls with the Ashington services. I note also the local rail user group (SENRUG) has made a formal request to Northern for the Morpeth services to be extended to Bedlington via Hepscott. Very much doubt it will happen but would link up the 2 services. Full details of their proposal can be found here: https://www.senrug.co.uk/blog/wp-co...Email-to-Northern-re-Morpeth-Bedlington-1.pdf
There's already only 1tph from Manors to Cramlington and Morpeth.
. Will be interesting what happens though as Manors is a bit of an oddity that could usefully serve the east end of the city but is too close to Newcastle central, competes with the metro and could cause congestion on the ECML.It would be a useful place for more services to call if it had lifts and an indoor waiting area, but the cost of these seems unlikely to be worthwhile while the walking routes to the station are so poor. I don't see how they could really be improved either without taking down the urban motorway, which is not going to happen any time soon.Ah I see where I have gone wrong, would need 1tp2h on each service to call at Manors to keep 1tph between manors and Newcastle
Yes, I would like to think that voting would be swayed much more by the appalling disaster of this government than a local railway possibly re-opening to passengers (and they would be forgiven for thinking even that was more lies!).
Given the proximity to the Metro, it seems odd to me to reinstate it as heavy rail rather than integrate it into the Metro.
It will be interesting to see how this interacts with Better Timetables for Passengers and Freight Reform (BTPF). Hopefully the bid for 29 September 2024 to 2 February 2025 includes the new Northumberland line services. I can't imagine the infrastructure receiving entry into service by the start of it though. If the services aren't included in this bid, likely they will have to wait until 2 February 2025 to begin. I am not aware if Northern have the resources to bid it in time for June or September 2024, but hopefully they do.
It would cost more to provide electrification etc, and Metrocars would have to go via Gosforth and Jesmond, either making nine intermediate stops on the way to Central or running non-stop but catching up a stopper.
It would be the perfect opportunity to launch a Metro sub brand for heavy rail in the region. The brand recognition leading to higher usage; akin to what TFL did with London Overground. No doubt it will poorly branded/northern trains.
You do realise, don't you, that your quote from Glenn1969 was from a 3-year old post on the first page of this thread?
Railfuture's north eastern arm seems to be advocating for exactly that, and making all outstanding single-track sections double-track, plus re-opening the original route to Blyth and extending the northern terminus to Newbiggin.
I suppose it could be rebranded Manors (for Quayside) if there was some way of providing access to the eastern side of the station, but it’s a bit of a chicken and egg situation - there’s no point spending money on such a poorly used station, but usage won’t increase to its full potential without investment. Tricky!
They’ve had about 40 years experience so far to help make that decision, and haven’t yet…
Perhaps - although there is also probably an argument that the Metro increases its viability. If you’re coming from Morpeth etc and want the Coast then your best bet is to change at Manors - from Central it’s a Metro to Monument and then change adding at least 10mins to the journey time. Whether this market is large enough to justify its retention is a different question!
This was a question about a 3 year old post. Running it as part of Metro was ruled out very early on because it would take far too long to get to central Newcastle via the existing Metro route from Northumberland Park via South Gosforth, stopping at all stations.
The old service ran non-stop from Backworth to Jesmond and Manors. Fast coast electric services ran via the ECML to Manors and Central.
The original route, with the terminus pretty much where the Morrisons is now (where the old station was).
The area outside Manors station is not an area I would like to use alone at night. On the only occasion I used it (to take photos), I got the feeling that the area might not be very safe.
Even if it did happen, it can't go further than Princess Louise Road. The plan for a level crossing there, or even a bridge won't happen because of the new school being built on the site. Then the Sports Centre would provide an obstacle too. By the time you factor in this there's not much point in going past Newsham.
