Welcome to the North East England Branch of Railfuture
We are actively campaigning alongside other organisations and groups to improve and develop rail services in the North East of England.
The North East branch covers from Berwick-Upon Tweed in the far north of England, as far south as Whitby (itself in Yorkshire but connected by rail via Teesside), and across west as far as Haltwhistle. This areas encompasses the local authorities in Northumberland, those in the Tyne and Wear area, County Durham and Tees Valley, as well as the broader Tees Valley Combined Authority, and North East Combined Authority.
Upcoming Events
Railfuture North East AGM: Saturday 9th May 2026
14:00 (2pm) in the upstairs conference room, Newcastle Arts Centre, 67 Westgate Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Speaker: Renowned transport activist Don Kent, with his presentation 'Reconnecting Consett', Could Consett once again be feasibly become part of the national rail network?
North East Campaigns
Our campaigns, working with our local Rail User Groups, are:
The Northumberland Line (Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Line). For more details see RfNE: The Northumberland Line
New Station at Ferryhill - Further details at Ferryhill Station
New Station at Gilsland - Further details at Gilsland Station
New Station at Team Valley - Further details at New Station at Team Valley
New Railway Ferryhill to Pelaw (Leamside Line) Further details at Leamside Line
Faster Journey times between Teesside and Tyneside (Stillington Line) - Further details at Faster Journeys between Teesside and Tyneside
East Cleveland Line - returning passenger services back to Loftus running along the Tees Valley Line and branching off at Saltburn West Junction. Plan for 1 Northern Servce per hour.
ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service. Further details at RfNE: ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service
Local Links
South East Northumberland Rail Users Group - http://www.senrug.co.uk
Tees Valley Line Rail Users Group - https://www.tvl-rug.org.uk
Coastliners – The Users group for the Durham Coast Line - http://www.necoastliners.co.uk
Tyne Valley Rail Users Group - https://tvrug.org.uk
North East Public Transport User Group (NEPTUG) - Campaigning for better public transport and active travel - https://neptug.org.uk/
Northumberland Coast Loop - Campaigning for a new route from Newcastle to Berwick and beyond via Bedlington and Blyth - https://northumberlandcoastloop.uk/
The branch also supports the work being undertaken in our region by the AVR (Aln Valley Railway), Weardale Railway, Campaign for Borders Rail and the Wensleydale Railway.
A full list of Rail user groups in the North East are shown on Railfuture's Regional list list of groups which can be downloaded in PDF format.
Newsletter
View our latest and previous branch newsletters.
NE branch dashboard
See the full dashboard for NE branch.
Contact
Secretary: ian.walker at railfuture.org.uk or at 47 Park House Gardens, Sherburn Village, Durham DH6 1DU
Railfuture -Britain's leading independent campaign for a better passenger and freight rail network
We need you - Join us!
Please go to the Join page to become a member of Railfuture.
We are actively campaigning alongside other organisations and groups to improve and develop rail services in the North East of England.
The North East branch covers from Berwick-Upon Tweed in the far north of England, as far south as Whitby (itself in Yorkshire but connected by rail via Teesside), and across west as far as Haltwhistle. This areas encompasses the local authorities in Northumberland, those in the Tyne and Wear area, County Durham and Tees Valley, as well as the broader Tees Valley Combined Authority, and North East Combined Authority.
Our Current Activities
Railfuture North East supports, and actively participates in, local campaigns to develop the rail system. The current campaigns in which we take a particular interest are listed further down on this page, with links to other pages that report on the latest news for each campaign. We also take the opportunity to comment on plans for changes to timetables and keep a careful eye on the plans and strategies for public transport as they are developed by our local and transport authorities. If take every opportunity to try to influence the content of these plans as they are developed and before they are ‘set in concrete’.
The Branch Committee worked with Transport North East and a range of local groups to develop a North East Rail and Metro Strategy. The 150 page plan has been agreed by the North East Joint Transport Committee and, in part as a result of our comments a shorter and more "user friendly" version of the report is said to be on the way. In general we are supportive of the plan that has taken on board many of the ideas proposed by local campaigners. However we think that the plan has missed out some important issues including the need for a clear outline of the local services that will be on offer once the plan becomes reality.
Railfuture North East supports, and actively participates in, local campaigns to develop the rail system. The current campaigns in which we take a particular interest are listed further down on this page, with links to other pages that report on the latest news for each campaign. We also take the opportunity to comment on plans for changes to timetables and keep a careful eye on the plans and strategies for public transport as they are developed by our local and transport authorities. If take every opportunity to try to influence the content of these plans as they are developed and before they are ‘set in concrete’.
The Branch Committee worked with Transport North East and a range of local groups to develop a North East Rail and Metro Strategy. The 150 page plan has been agreed by the North East Joint Transport Committee and, in part as a result of our comments a shorter and more "user friendly" version of the report is said to be on the way. In general we are supportive of the plan that has taken on board many of the ideas proposed by local campaigners. However we think that the plan has missed out some important issues including the need for a clear outline of the local services that will be on offer once the plan becomes reality.
Upcoming Events
Railfuture North East AGM: Saturday 9th May 2026
14:00 (2pm) in the upstairs conference room, Newcastle Arts Centre, 67 Westgate Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Speaker: Renowned transport activist Don Kent, with his presentation 'Reconnecting Consett', Could Consett once again be feasibly become part of the national rail network?
North East Campaigns
Our campaigns, working with our local Rail User Groups, are:
The Northumberland Line (Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Line). For more details see RfNE: The Northumberland Line
New Station at Ferryhill - Further details at Ferryhill Station
New Station at Gilsland - Further details at Gilsland Station
New Station at Team Valley - Further details at New Station at Team Valley
New Railway Ferryhill to Pelaw (Leamside Line) Further details at Leamside Line
Faster Journey times between Teesside and Tyneside (Stillington Line) - Further details at Faster Journeys between Teesside and Tyneside
East Cleveland Line - returning passenger services back to Loftus running along the Tees Valley Line and branching off at Saltburn West Junction. Plan for 1 Northern Servce per hour.
ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service. Further details at RfNE: ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service
Local Links
South East Northumberland Rail Users Group - http://www.senrug.co.uk
Tees Valley Line Rail Users Group - https://www.tvl-rug.org.uk
Coastliners – The Users group for the Durham Coast Line - http://www.necoastliners.co.uk
Tyne Valley Rail Users Group - https://tvrug.org.uk
North East Public Transport User Group (NEPTUG) - Campaigning for better public transport and active travel - https://neptug.org.uk/
Northumberland Coast Loop - Campaigning for a new route from Newcastle to Berwick and beyond via Bedlington and Blyth - https://northumberlandcoastloop.uk/
The branch also supports the work being undertaken in our region by the AVR (Aln Valley Railway), Weardale Railway, Campaign for Borders Rail and the Wensleydale Railway.
A full list of Rail user groups in the North East are shown on Railfuture's Regional list list of groups which can be downloaded in PDF format.
Newsletter
View our latest and previous branch newsletters.
NE branch dashboard
See the full dashboard for NE branch.
Contact
Secretary: ian.walker at railfuture.org.uk or at 47 Park House Gardens, Sherburn Village, Durham DH6 1DU
Railfuture -Britain's leading independent campaign for a better passenger and freight rail network
We need you - Join us!
Please go to the Join page to become a member of Railfuture.