Blyth railway station
Blyth | |
---|---|
British Railways | |
Key dates | |
3 March 1847 | First station opened |
1 May 1867 | Second station opened; first station closed |
1894–96 | Rebuilt |
2 November 1964 | Closed |
1972 | Demolished |
Blyth railway station served
History
The Blyth, Seghill and Percy Main Railway opened the line to Blyth on 3 March 1847[2] and the first station was at Croft Street (now King Street).[3] On 1 May 1867 a new station was opened to replace the original station.[4] It was at the north end of Turner Street[1] (now part of Regent Street) on the site now occupied by Morrisons supermarket and the Community Hospital.
The Blyth, Seghill and Percy Main Railway became the Blyth and Tyne Railway in 1853 and was taken over by the
The NER therefore rebuilt the existing station between 1894 and 1896,
The station originally had two signal boxes: Blyth Signal Box at the end of the passenger platforms and Blyth Crossing Box controlling the level crossing near the engine shed on Renwick Road (previously Alexandra Crescent). Blyth Signal Box was destroyed by a German parachute mine on the night of 25 April 1941, killing the signaller instantly.[10] Thereafter only Blyth Crossing Box was used.
Passenger services were withdrawn on 2 November 1964 Today nothing remains of the station itself or associated buildings, except for the Station Master's house in Delaval Terrace which survives as a private home.
Proposals for a new railway service
It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article titled Blyth Bebside railway station. (Discuss) (June 2023) |
By the 1990s local councils were considering the feasibility of restoring passenger services linking
Later, in 2009, the
In the early 2010s,
The GRIP 2 study, which NCC received in October 2016, confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day a week passenger service between
After receiving the GRIP 2 study, NCC initially announced that they were preceding with a GRIP 3 Study from Network Rail but such a report was not commissioned at the time.[19] Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections[20] the authority continued to work towards the reintroduction of a passenger service onto the line,[21] encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail, which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services.[22][23] Consequentially, NCC commissioned a further interim study in November 2017 (dubbed GRIP 2B) to determine whether high costs and long timescales identified in the GRIP 2 Study could be reduced by reducing the initial scope of the project but the report failed to deliver on this.[19]
The county council has, however, continued to develop the project, announcing an additional £3.46 million in funding for a further business case and detailed design study[24] (equivalent to GRIP 3)[19] to be completed by the end of 2019. However, the revised proposals, released in July 2019, are reduced in scope from the plan considered in the 2016 GRIP 2 study and propose 4-phase project[25] to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. Indeed, under the £90 million Phase 1,[24] Newsham would be the only station reopened to serve Blyth on the Newcastle to Ashington Northumberland Line passenger service;[25] possibly occurring as early as 2022.[24] The park and ride station at Bebside proposed in the GRIP 2 study is instead proposed as an additional station to be added in Phase 2.[25]
The North East Joint Transport Committee's bid for £377 million of funding from the UK Government's £1.28 billion Transfroming Cities Fund, submitted on 20 June 2019, includes £99 million to fund the reintroduction of passenger services between Newcastle, Newsham and Ashington,[26] while further work is ongoing to secure additional public and private investment for the project.[27]
References
- ^ a b "Blyth Photographs - Blyth, Railway Station (c.1910)". communities.northumberland.gov.uk. Northumberland County Council. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^ "Blyth & Tyne Branch". Northumbrian Railways. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ Balmer & Smith 2004, p. 56.
- ^ a b "Blyth". Northumbrian Railways. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ a b c Balmer & Smith 2004, p. 60.
- ^ Balmer & Smith 2004, p. 37.
- ^ a b "Blyth Station". Archaeology Data Service. University of York. 18 October 2003. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- ^ Balmer & Smith 2004, p. 55.
- ^ "Ernies Northumbrian Railway Archive – cb Newsham, South Blyth Staiths, Blyth Station and back to Newsham". erniesphotos.fotopic.net. 25 May 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- ^ Balmer & Smith 2004, p. 62.
- ^ "The North East's lost railway stations tell the story of our region's history". 29 March 2015.
- ^ a b Bevan 1998, p. 59.
- ^ Denis Murphy; et al. (10 January 2007). "Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Railway". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 135WH–139WH.
- ^ ATOC 2009, p. 17.
- ^ "The Journal: Ashington Blyth and Tyne rail line restoration scheme gets green light". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "New Post Leader: Plans for rail line reach milestone". Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "Chronicle Live: Reopening of Newcastle to Ashington rail link moves one step closer". Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "Ashington Blyth & Tyne GRIP 2 Study" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ a b c "SENRUG - South East Northumberland Rail User Group: Re-open Ashington Blyth & Tyne Line". Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ Kelly, Mike; Muncaster, Michael (5 May 2017). "Northumberland local elections results IN FULL - council held by Tories in 'straw draw' drama - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Graham, Hannah (1 June 2018). "Northumberland's draft local plan unveiled: What it means for houses, jobs and the green belt - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ISBN 9781528601252. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Allen, Andrew (12 December 2017). "What's in the government's new rail strategy? | CityMetric". CityMetric. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Ben (28 February 2019). "Phasing of proposed Northumberland rail line explained after concerns raised | News Post Leader". News Post Leader. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Ben (15 July 2019). "Six new stations could open if Ashington to Newcastle passenger trains resume - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Holland, Daniel (19 June 2019). "North East's £377m transport funding bid confirmed - but leaders say there is more to come - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Northumberland Line could reopen for passengers in 2022 | Rail Engineer". Rail Engineer. 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
Sources
- "Connecting Communities – Expanding Access to the Rail Network" (PDF). London: Association of Train Operating Companies. June 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- Balmer, Bob (2002) [1997]. Images of England: Blyth (3rd ed.). ISBN 978-0-7524-0773-9.
- Balmer, Bob; Smith, Gordon (2004). Images of England: Blyth volume II. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7524-3349-3.
- Bevan, Alan, ed. (1998). A-Z of Rail Reopenings (fourth ed.). Fareham: Railway Development Society Ltd. p. 59. ISBN 0-901283-13-4.
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Newsham Line open; station closed |
Blyth and Tyne Railway | Terminus |