The campaign to restore passenger trains to a densely populated area of Northumberland took a major step forward this month.
Rail campaigners ran a special train over tracks which normally now see only freight trains.
It started in Morpeth, running down the main line to Newcastle, back to Ashington via Northumberland Park, Newsham and Bedlington, before returning to Morpeth via Choppington.
The sections through Newsham and Bedlington to Ashington as well as the return route via Choppington are freight-only routes.
The train was chartered from Northern Rail and sponsored by Wansbeck District Council whose mainly urban area includes Ashington, Bedlington and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
It made three separate trips on 7 June 2008 and covered the Morpeth-Bedlington and Northumberland Park-Ashington sections of the line, both of which have been the subject of recent reopening studies.
Tickets on the second and third trip were sold to members of the public and were sold out within days of release, indicating the high level of local support for the scheme.
The first trip was reserved for local stakeholders and included over 130 representatives from Northumberland County Council, Castle Morpeth Borough Council, Morpeth Town Council, Wansbeck District Council, Blyth Valley District Council, Newcastle City Council, Association of North East Councils, North East Assembly, Nexus, Government Office North East and SENNTRI, an organisation aiming to maximise the social and economic benefits of South East Northumberland and North Tyneside.
Around 40 local authority councillors were on board as was Wansbeck's Labour MP Denis Murphy and North East England's Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall.
Representatives from local businesses, North East Chamber of Commerce and the TUC were also present along with Railfuture North East branch chairman Martin Murphy.
Significant press coverage was achieved with the trip being highlighted on BBC TV The Politics Show, BBC TV Look North, BBC Radio Newcastle Drivetime, Century Radio and Smooth Radio's hourly news broadcasts. Reporters and photographers from four local or regional newspapers were also present.
Dennis Fancett, chairman of the South East Northumberland Rail User Group was interviewed for the two BBC TV programmes and was extensively quoted in the local press.
"We called the charter train The Ashington Future because we want to highlight the regenerative benefits re-opening the line will bring" he said.
"This was not a heritage or nostalgic trip. We deliberately chartered a standard two-coach train from Northern Rail, exactly the kind of stock that would be used if the line is indeed reopened, and we set the fares for the trains open to members of the public at the kind of level they are likely to be once the line is reopened, rather than charge premium rates as often happens on heritage trips.
"As we completely sold out, we are being inundated with messages asking us if we are going to do this again next year. Our reply however is that we hope the line will soon be reopened permanently, meaning local people can travel on it every single day, and not just on special occasions".
SENRUG produced a colour brochure programme detailing its reopening campaign.
For more details of the campaign or to obtain a campaign brochure visit www.senrug.co.uk
Information from Dennis Fancett. Email: dennis.fancett at btinternet.com
Video clip of BBC TV The Politics Show Sunday 8 June 2008:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/regions/north_east_and_cumbria/7444010.stm