North East leaders are hoping to kickstart a £130m regeneration of areas that will soon be connected by trains on the Northumberland Line.
New rail services are due to start running in 2023 between Ashington and Newcastle’s Central Station – stopping in between at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park and Manors. And council chiefs are hopeful that the “once in a generation” investment to return passenger trains to a route that has been reserved only for freight since the Beeching cuts of the 1960s will in turn deliver a huge boost to jobs and housing for its communities.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) is set to sign off on a £10m cash injection next week, which it hopes will spark a wave of extra investment across the area totalling at least £130m in the next five years.
