Northumberland Train Line in the North East Returns
A long-closed railway line in the North East is set to welcome passengers once again following a multi-million-pound project to reconnect communities. The Northumberland Line, which links Newcastle to Ashington, will open to the public this Sunday (15 December) after more than 60 years.
The Northumberland Train Line was one of many to be axed as part of the Beeching cuts to the railway in the 1960s. Its return follows a £298 million investment, having to overcome delays and spiralling costs due to severe weather and the discovery of unmapped mine works.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, in her first address since being appointed on 29 November following Louise Haigh’s resignation, officially reopened the line at a ceremony in Ashington, joined by North East mayor Kim McGuinness and local officials.
The event included the first passenger train journey in over six decades, welcomed by schoolchildren and the Ashington Colliery Band.
Ms Alexander said: “Sixty years ago, passengers here lost their rail service. They were a casualty of the Beeching Cuts. This deprived communities of a lifeline to jobs, education and the NHS.
“It didn’t stop local people from getting on in life, but it simply made life a little bit harder. Today, we turn the page on that chapter with the reopening of the Northumberland Line. Good transport makes life better. That’s what I want to bring to communities, and where Northumberland leads, I hope others will follow.”
Mayor McGuinness added: “This is unlocking opportunity for people, particularly in South East Northumberland.
“We all know that transport across our region is about so much more than getting from A to B. This is about young people being able to use this service to get to education or to get to jobs or just to see their friends, and the freedom that represents.”
While stations at Ashington and Seaton Delaval are ready for the opening, additional stops at Northumberland Park, Newsham, Bedlington and Blyth Bebside are set to open next year. Northern will operate half-hourly services on weekdays and hourly services on evenings and weekends.
This milestone is part of ongoing efforts to improve transport connectivity across the North East, with future plans to extend the route to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea currently under discussion.