Cafe Plans For Derelict Building On New Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A disused building on a newly reopened railway line could be saved if planners back proposals, external for its renovation.
These three paragraphs give more details.
One structure at Bedlington station in Northumberland has already been demolished but plans have been submitted which would save the building on the northbound side.
It was used until 1964 when the line closed, and while passenger services on the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle resumed last year, a new station in Bedlington has not yet been completed.
East Bedlington Parish Council chair Keith Grimes said: “It’s one of the oldest buildings in the parish, so it’s definitely worth keeping.”
I wrote about my visit to the new Northumberland Line in My First Trip On The Northumberland Line – 18th December 2024.
If the Northumberland Line is going to attract leisure travelers, a sprinkling of cafes along the line is a must.
These are pictures of Bedlington from my earlier trip.
Note.
- I’d hoped I’d got a picture of the prospective cafe. But no luck.
- I didn’t see any Bedlington Terriers either.
- But then there are several of those excellent and distinctive dogs, near where I live in London.
The station should be operational this year, but it appears there’s still a lot of work to do.
Access To The Coast
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines of Northumberland in relation to the coast.
Note.
- The orange line is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
- Morpeth is the station on the Western edge of the map.
- The yellow line is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The site of the new Bedlington station is indicated by the blue arrow.
It looks to me, that there are a lot of disused railway lines, that could be used to develop the Northumberland Line into a system with a much wider coverage.
The Wikipedia entry for the Northumberland line does say this about Ashington station.
Ashington station has been developed in such a way that an extension, such as that previously proposed to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Woodhorn could still be built, albeit part of a separate scheme.
Note.
- Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is East of Ashington.
- Woodburn is on a line that goes to the West of the East Coast Main Line.
- The extensions would open up the area for more housing and rail-oriented leisure activities.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines to the West and North of Newcastle.
Note.
- The orange line on the East side of the map is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Morpeth.
- The yellow line to the East of the East Coast Main Line, is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The green line is the Tyne and Wear Metro
- The orange line going along the bottom edge of the map is the Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle via Corbridge and Hexham.
- All the lines meet at Newcastle station.
- Woodburn station is indicated by the arrow on disused lines that connect Morpeth on the East Coast Main Line with the Tyne Valley Line.
Reopening the lines to Woodburn would create a new railway, that would encircle Newcastle and surely create lots of housing, business and leisure opportunities.
But let’s get Phase One finished first and see how passenger numbers develop.
Ashley Down Station – 28th September 2024
Ashley Down Station opened today, so I went to visit and took these pictures.
Note.
- There are four tracks and two platforms.
- The numerous numbers of Class 165 trains buzzing around.
- I saw several Hitachi Class 80x and CrossCountry passing trains passing through.
- I arriving in and left in Class 165 trains.
- All the Class 165 trains appear to have been refurbished.
- The station has stairs and a pair of lifts.
- There is bicycle parking and a car drop-off area.
It is certainly, a station with a long list of features.
The station is also in walking distance of Bristol Rovers ground.
This map shows the two locations.
Note.
- The football ground is in the North-West corner.
- Te staiton is in the South-East corner.
A Bristolian told me it will be 15-20 minutes walk.
Ashley Down Station Opens On Saturday
Ashley Down station will be Bristol’s latest new station, when it opens this Saturday.
I shall be going, after probably taking the Elizabeth Line to Reading station.
Waterbeach Station To Be Relocated
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These three paragraphs, outline the project.
Cambridgeshire County Council has called tenders for an estimated £35m design and build contract for the relocation of Waterbeach station to a new site further to the north.
This would support the Waterbeach New Town development of 4 500 homes. Opening is now envisaged for 2026.
The replacement station would have two platforms, an accessible footbridge, a 200-space car park, taxi and bus drop-off, cycle storage and a new access road from Cody Road. The 24-month scheme would include the demolition of the existing station.
This Google Map shows the current station and the location of Waterbeach New Town.
Note.
Waterbeach station is at the bottom of the map, just to the right of centre.
- The station is on the Breckland Line between Cambridge and Norwich via Ely.
- The Breckland Line continues North-East to the North-East corner of the map.
- The village of Waterbeach is to the North of the station.
- North of Waterbeach is the old Waterbeach Airfield, which will be covered in the housing of the New Town.
Moving the station nearer the New Town would seem to be a sensible action.
I have some further thoughts.
The Remodelling Of Ely
Ely station is a railway bottleneck and in Are The Trains In Ely Finally To Be Sorted?, I discussed what needed to be done.
Would it help, if Waterbeach station were to be rebuilt first?
A Cambridge Metro
Once Waterbeach station has been rebuilt and Cambridge South station has been built, there will be a run of stations through Cambridge.
- Ely
- Waterbeach
- Cambridge North
- Cambridge
- Cambridge South
Perhaps, extra trains could be added to create a frequent rail route across Cambridge.
East West Railway
Will the trains of the East West Railway stop at Waterbeach station?
Conclusion
Waterbeach could be a very useful and busy station.
Brent Cross West Station – 10th December 2023
The new Brent Cross West station opened today, so I went to have a look.
Note.
- There are two island platforms.
- The platforms can handl2 12-car Class 700 trains.
- The Eastern island, which is Platforms 1 and 2, is for Thameslink and has two escalators, two lifts, two sets of stairs and two toilets.
- The toilets on the Eastern platforms are an identical pair to cater for everyone.
- The Western island, which is Platforms 3 and 4, is for the main lines and has one lift and two sets of stairs.
- The arriving Thameslink Class 700 train is stopping in Platform 1 on the way to London.
- Signs indicate a cafe, but I couldn’t find it, so I assume that is for the future.
- The shelters on the platforms are heated.
- Both entrances have two lifts, at least one or two escalators and stairs.
The outside photos were taken two days later.
I have some other thoughts.
The Station Layout
The station has a slightly unusual and very practical layout.
- There is a longish and high bridge over the multiple tracks through the station.
- It is step-free with lifts and escalators at each end to give step-free access across the railway.
- The bridge is wide and is built for cycles.
- The trains are accessed from a spacious lobby, which is separated from the bridge by a long gate-line.
- The lifts, stairs and escalators all lead down from the spacious lobby.
The station must have a very high passenger capacity.
The Track Layout
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout at the station.
Note.
- The Eastern island platform between the 90 mph Thameslink tracks.
- The Western island platform between the 100-105 mph main line tracks.
- The two most-Easterly tracks give access to the Cricklewood Depot.
- The two black tracks
- The blue tracks connect to the Dudding Hill Line.
- The two black tracks between the blue tracks and the main line tracks are the Up and Down Hendon tracks, which run between Hendon and West Hampstead Thameslink stations, which seem to allow trains to cross over from one side of the tracks to the other.
The large number of tracks must make operation easier.
The West London Orbital Railway
The Hendon and Kew Bridge route of the West London Orbital Railway is planned to call at Brent Cross West station.
It looks like it will use the two Hendon tracks through Brent Cross West and Hendon stations and trains will take the Dudding Hill Line to Neasden to the South of Brent Cross West station.
The West London Orbital Railway will connect Hendon and Brent Cross West station to High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line, so it will be a very important connection for the residents of the area.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the track layout between the Dudding Hill Line and Hendon.
Note.
- Hendon station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The orange tracks are the Midland Main Line
- Brent Cross West station is marked by the blue arrow.
- The yellow tracks going towards the South-West are the Dudding Hill Line.
The Hendon route will need new platforms at Hendon and Brent Cross West station.
Conclusion
I like the station and I think others will be built on similar principles.
Passing Brent Cross West Station – 1st November 2023
I took these pictures of the Eastern entrance of the station, as my train passed this morning.
Note.
- There doesn’t seem to be much going on.
- There seem to be very few of the Orange Army around.
- None of the staff I talked to at St. Pancras, knew anything about the station’s opening date.
Perhaps, the station is due to open on Timetable Change Day; 10th December, 2023? It certainly looks, that it might be able to.
Portway Park & Ride Station – 10th August 2023
Portway Park & Ride station, opened on the first of this month, so I went to visit today.
Note.
- The Portway Park & Ride is served by both buses and trains.
- Buses serve the City Centre and rugby and football at Ashton Gate stadium.
- Trains serve Avonmouth, Bristol Temple Meads, Severn Beach, Weston-super-Mare and a large number of other Bristol stations.
The M5 crosses over the railway to the West of the station.
This Google Map shows the M5 and the Portway Park & Ride.
Note.
- The M5 goes diagonally SW-NE across the map.
- The wide river is the Avon.
- Portway Park & Ride with its station is in the middle of the bottom of the map.
- Avonmouth station is in the North-West corner of the map.
The Portway Park & Ride seems to be an extremely well-connected Park & Ride.
These are my thoughts.
Are There Any Other Park & Ride Sites, Where A Station Could Be Added?
Consider.
- I wrote about a possible new station at Leicester Forest East in A Station At Leicester Forest East.
- In A Look At New Station Projects, several possible Park & Ride stations are mentioned.
Has Portway Park & Ride been developed to see if sites served by buses and trains are a good idea?
Is Portway Park & Ride The Solution To Big Matches At Ashton Gate?
Consider.
- Ashton Gate Stadium has a capacity of 27,000.
- Wikipedia says that buses from Portway Park & Ride are used to bring supporters to games.
- The platform at Portway Park & Ride might be able to take a five-car Class 802 train for a big match.
I wouldn’t be surprised that Portway Park & Ride has been designed for large crowds at big matches at Ashton Gate.
Northumberland Line Station Contracts Are Signed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Nexus.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The signs are good for the new Northumberland rail line after the green light was given for construction to get underway on three new stations.
Contracts have been exchanged for principal contractor Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to formally start work on Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Seaton Delaval stations.
Main construction works are progressing at pace, with station works well underway at Newsham and works approaching completion in Ashington, and 21km of new track is already installed.
It certainly looks like it’s all systems go.
I hope Network Rail have the next reopening ready to go!
Thanet Parkway Station – 31st July 2023
Thanet Parkway station opened yesterday, so I went to have a look.
I took these pictures.
Note.
- I arrived in a twelve-car Class 395 train and the platforms handled it with ease.
- Both platforms are served by steep stairs and a lift.
- There seems to be 293 car parking spaces and 16 accessible spaces according to the National Rail information page.
- The only worthwhile architectural feature is the use of the existing tunnel to cross under the tracks.
But this station seems to be defined more by what it doesn’t have.
- No cafe or pub within walking distance.
- No convenience store to pick up a few supplies on the way home.
- No chargers for electric vehicles.
- No toilets.
- No staff.
It is a rather underwhelming station.
I have some further thoughts.
Last Train Home
In the early years of this century, C and myself would often spend a day in London, shopping, watching a show and probably having a meal.
- We generally used to drive up from Suffolk and would park near King’s Cross.
- Although, sometimes we would take the train from Whittlesford Parkway station to the South of Cambridge.
So out of curiosity, I looked at the last train to Thanet Parkway yesterday.
It had these times.
- St. Pancras International – 22:37
- Stratford International – 22:44
- Thanet Parkway – 23:50
- Ramsgate – 23:57
- Broadstairs – 00:02
- Margate – 00:07
It could enable long days out or late working in London.
Not Enough Trains
I believe that one train per hour (tph) is not a frequent enough service to London for this station.
Other nearby stations have the following HighSpeed services to St. Pancras International.
- Ramsgate – 3 tph
- Broadstairs – 2 tph
- Margate – 2 tph
In addition, these three stations get a 1 tph stopping service to Victoria.
Perhaps there could be a Thanet Loop service from St. Pancras International.
- It would run via Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International, Gravesend, Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Birchington-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs. Ramsgate, Thanet Parkway, Canterbury West, Ashford International, Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International.
- It would also run both ways at a frequency of 1 tph.
- I estimate that a train to go round the loop would take three hours and thirteen minutes.
This would probably mean fourteen trains would be needed to run the service.
I don’t think they probably have enough.
Marsh Barton Station – 4th July 2023
The main purpose of my trip to Devon was to visit the new Marsh Barton station, on the Riviera Line.
These are my thoughts about the station.
The Overall Design
This Google map shows Marsh Barton station under construction.
The station is built on a narrow lane by an industrial estate, which features a large waste-to-energy facility, which is in the South-West corner of the map.
The station is a basic two platform design with everything you need on the platforms and a gently sloping bridge over the top to give full step-free access.
I’ve never been to a station, which uses this form of step-free access, either in the UK or Europe.
I think it works because of the unusual site.
Car Parking
The station’s page on the GWR web site, says this about parking.
The station only has disabled parking bays for blue badge holders in order to encourage more sustainable transport use to and from the station.
Staff
The station is unstaffed.
Refreshments
When I arrived, I was hungry and needed a drink, so I asked a guy with a dog, if there was a cafe or pub nearby.
He said, the cafe shut the day before, but there was a pub called Double Locks about three or four minutes away on the canal.
These pictures show the walk.
And this map shows the location of the pub and the station.
Are country minutes like country miles and a lot longer than those everybody else uses?
In the end, as I was getting soaked, I made a retreat back to the station.
Service Frequency
Currently, the trains are only hourly. Is that enough?
The Anonymous Widower 