I'm a lifelong resident of Northumberland, havng been born and bred here, and I'm passionate about it seeing it made the best place it possibly can be. For that reason I think that the Northumberland Coast Loop can meet multiple objectives to achieving this through better connectivity, cutting carbon emissions and improving transport equality for those who cannot drive. 

The population of South East Northumberland (Bedlington, Blyth etc) has poor public transport connectivity to North Northumberland (Alnwick/Berwick/North Northumberland Coast), with journey times by bus typically being at least twice that of car trips.

While the Northumberland Line is a very welcome step by reintroducing rail services to Newcastle Central; the use of the existing link from Bedlington (Northumberland Line) to Pegswood (East Coast Main Line) could build on this investment and provide direct and much faster connections to North Northumberland - reducing the need for car trips and driving modal shift to cleaner and greener rail travel boosting Northumberlands' Net Zero commitment.

A route via Blyth would allow calls at upto 5 of the 6 stations being built for the Northumberland Line (Bedlington, Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park), and provide a much improved connection in both speed and comfort from SE Northumberland and North Tyneside to/from North Northumberland and perhaps beyond. This will help in reducing emissions via modal shift and increasing access to work and leisure opportunities for those without access to a private car. 

We would like to call upon Northumberland County Council, the Department for Transport and the wider rail industry to investigate the potential of running such services as soon as possible as this project helps reach Net Zero commitments, while also developing the local economy by using an existing freight line to better effect.