Welcome to the Railfuture page devoted to the Northumberland Line between Ashington, Northumberland, and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Formerly the 'Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line' campaign.
Introduction
Destination Ashington. Photo by John Brierley.
Opened on Sunday 15th December 2024, the 'Northumberland Line' is the latest major stretch of railway to reopen to passenger traffic in the UK, and welcomed the public aboard the first services. Whilst the stations did not open together on a single day due to delays and complications, as of May 2026, all of the stations on the line are now open, and the route is proving to be immensely successful, with it having carried well in excess of 1.4 million passengers to date, despite only being open for around 18 months.
Indeed such is the popularity of the route, that overcrowding has been an issue with some services at peak times, and there have already been calls to extend the line, some of which are set out below.
Brief history of the campaign to reopen the Northumberland Line
There have been many campaigns throughout the United Kingdom to reopen railway lines to passenger traffic. They all take a lot of work and time if they are to be successful, and examples of success are limited. The North East now has its own example of a successful campaign in the form of the South East Northumberland Rail Users Group (SENRUG) campaign to bring passenger services back to the line from Newcastle to Ashington, which after an absence of just over 60 years, returned on December 15th 2024 at Ashington and Seaton Delaval Stations. In May 2026, six new stations are open on the line and have proven even more successful than was ever anticipated by even the most ardent supporters of the line.
The original Blyth and Tyne railway was a network of waggonway and later railway lines and branches originally built to move coal from the collieries of South East Northumberland to the various staiths on the Blyth & Tyne rivers. Passenger services, introduced around the 1850's between Newcastle and Ashington were withdrawn in November 1964.
The Line Today
Biomass on the way to Lynnemouth Power Station Photo by Dave Shaw.
Newcastle to Ashington Track Layout
To enable the half-hourly passenger service on the Northumberland Line, alongside railfreight such as the Lynemouth biomass trains, the old 'Blyth and Tyne' railway lines were significantly upgraded, with many former single track sections returned to double track formation, but some stretches of single track remain, particularly where the alignment is constrained by structures such as bridges or sharp curves.
The route leaves the East Coast Main Line (ECML) at Benton Junction, north of Newcastle, then runs parallel to the Tyne and Wear Metro eastwards towards the first new station at Northumberland Park, adjacent to the Metro station of the same name. This section is largely single track, with a passing loop near to the junction with the ECML.
After Northumberland Park, the Northumberland Line turns northwards away from the Metro lines, and at Holywell Junction, enters a short section of double track that ends at Seghill Junction near to Seghill village, there the line again turns east and runs as single track through Seaton Delaval station and around the Hartley Curve. Just after Hartley Curve and the line again turning north, the line again returns to double track at Red House Farm Junction, remaining as double track through Newsham, Blyth Bebside, and Bedlington stations.
At Bedlington, there are two junctions, Bedlington South and Bedlington North, the south junction allows access into Furnaceway Sidings, where some freight trains are now reversed (formerly reversed on the running line at Newsham before the Northumberland Line opened).
Bedlington North Junction has two spurs, the right hand route is the continuation of the present Northumberland Line (built on the former Newbiggin Branch), which runs as double track towards Ashington, with a triangular junction off the Northumberland Line onto the North Blyth/Cambois branch off this route serving the Port of Blyth.
As the train approaches Ashington station, a short siding provides access to Ashington station itself, where the new platform is set out as a bay platform. The line itself does however continue as double track beyond Ashington station, curving eastwards towards the coast yet again, passing Woodhorn Museum (built around the surviving remains of Woodhorn Colliery), then curves northwards to finally reach the biomass fuelled Lynemouth Power Station and the present end of the line.
Backtracking along the branch to Woodhorn Colliery, is where the original line to head to Newbiggin by the Sea once branched off from the present freight line to Lynemouth Power Station, the junction being a short distance west of the bridge carrying the line over the A189 'Spine Road'. This route has been proposed for reopening, and is being advanced by Northumberland County Council and the North East combined Authority with a ((https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q53nyxjlpo|formal bid put forward in December 2025)).
A bit further back along the line to the former Ashington station (just north of the current Northumberland Line station) is where Ashington Junction once was, and gave access to the long dismantled 'Butterwell Line', which at one time connected in a southbound direction onto the ECML near to the village of Ulgham. The creation of a new north facing junction and reopening of this line to give a direct Ashington to Alnmouth route for passenger and freight use has been proposed. https://www.senrug.co.uk/NorthumberlandLineExtension-Ashington-Butterwell-Alnmouth.php
Going back to Bedlington North Junction, the left hand route (facing the junction) allows access along a single track and lightly used route towards Hepscott, where a triangular junction offers two routes back onto the ECML; the left hand route from Hepscott heads towards Morpeth, Cramlington, and back to Newcastle, whilst the other route to the right (the Morpeth North Curve) offers an route towards Pegswood, Alnmouth, Berwick, and Edinburgh.
This latter route is used a couple of times per week by the locally known 'Alcan' train, which takes Alumina from the orange silos at the Port of Blyth to Fort William, this train coming from North Blyth, reversing in Bedlington sidings, then taking the Hepscott, Pegswood, and Berwick route north to deliver the alumina to the smelter at Fort William.
This line through Hepscott that connects the ECML to the Northumberland Line is part of proposals for further expansion of the passenger routes on the former Blyth and Tyne, with a new station also being constructed to replace one long-lost at Choppington, which stood just to the west of the A1068 level crossing near the former White Swan pub. There are proposals by SENRUG to extend the current Newcastle to Morpeth service on to Bedlington as a Newcastle - Morpeth - Bedlington rail service: https://www.senrug.co.uk/NorthumberlandLineExtension-Bedlington-Choppington-Morpeth.php Additionally, the Northumberland Coast Loop https://northumberlandcoastloop.uk/ campaign is proposing to use the Newcastle - Bedlington - Pegswood - Berwick route as an option for some semi-fast services between Newcastle and Edinburgh, as well as for a local service between Newcastle and Berwick.
Overview of the stations on the Northumberland Line.
The Northumberland Line project, now fully completed, has a total of six new/reopened stations: Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, and finally Northumberland Park. Manors, as an existing station, is served by some Northumberland Line trains en-route to Newcastle Central Station.
At Ashington, whilst the original through platforms still remain in place, a new single track bay platform has been constructed in the former goods yard, allowing for a four car multiple unit (Typically 2x Class 158/156) to stop clear of the mainline to allow passing biomass trains bound for Lynemouth Power Station to pass by. The existing car park at the site has been remodelled and expanded, as well as the provision of cycle storage near to the platform. This station opened to the public on Sunday 15th December 2024.
At Bedlington, one of the station buildings has been demolished, the other being retained for future community use, with the existing single platform now totally rebuilt due to realignment of the track, and the construction of a second platform on the south side of the line (never existed before due to colliery sidings branching off here pre-1964). Bedlington Station reopened to passengers with two platforms on 29th March 2026.
Blyth Bebside station is on a totally new site, slightly to the south of the original Bebside station, with a large car park being built adjacent, and also a new footbridge to link the station to the ADSA Blyth/Horton Park area over the A189 Spine Road. Blyth Bebside station opened to passengers on 19th October 2025.
Newsham station is again on a new site, located south of the original Newsham station, that was located at a now long closed junction serving central Blyth, the south staiths, harbour area and Bates Colliery/Coal Loaders. This station has been built to the south of the former A1061 South Newsham Road, the level crossing there closing after construction and opening of a new flyover to take the re-routed A1061 over the Northumberland Line. This station was opened on 17th March 2025.
Seaton Delaval station is located on a single track section of line, again slightly south of the original Seaton Delaval, with a new car park provided for rail users. This station opened alongside Ashington on Sunday 15th December 2024.
Northumberland Park station is located adjacent to the Tyne and Wear Metro station of the same name, and works as a new interchange between the Northumberland Line and the T&W Metro system. This station opened on 22nd February 2026.
Why was the Northumberland Line reopened?
The business case for re-opening the line is based on the re-invigoration of Ashington and other communities in South East Northumberland.The line runs through a major part of the former Northumberland Coalfield and will serve several communities that experience multiple deprivation and have high levels of unemployment and/or dependence on benefits.
Prior to reopening, there was all party agreement on the benefits that the re-opening will bring in terms supporting economic growth, regeneration and community development in Northumberland and the surrounding regions by providing new and improved transport links for local people and businesses. The new service will improve access from towns such as Ashington and Blyth to employment hubs like Newcastle, as well as opening up new opportunities for leisure, education and travel. The new service will offer a seamless transfer onto Tyne and Wear Metro at Northumberland Park. It will also provide a real incentive for potential employers to relocate to and invest in the local area. It will also help to encourage people out of their cars and onto cleaner, more sustainable forms of transport
Whilst most households now have access to a car, there remain many 1 car households where 2 or more people are seeking work. In particular many young people cannot afford to run their own car and so are dependent on good public transport to find jobs.
Good public transport and access to work also creates inward investment. People who already have a job but looking to set up home will find places such as Ashington, Bedlington and Blyth more attractive as they can get to their place of work easily. Such people will support local businesses, creating further employment in the area.
The re-opened line will also give access to the wider rail network making it easier to reach places such as York, Leeds, Birmingham, and London. This makes the communities served by the line more attractive locations for businesses, plus giving access to a wider range of jobs in locations such as Sunderland or Durham.
The new passenger service will also support further housing development, reduce traffic congestion on the A189 Spine Road / A19 corridor, and help achieve CO2 emission reduction targets.
The Campaign
In July 2004 SENRUG launched their campaign and in December 2005 were supported by local MPs through an Early Day Motion. In January 2007 the North East Assembly commissioned a report into the proposed phased re-opening of the line. The proposal reached Parliament again in May 2007 when SENRUG organised an online petition to 10 Downing Street which attracts over 1,000 signatures and prompts an Adjournment Debate. May 2008 saw a GRIP 4 Study launched. It was to be paid for by a freight operator but was cancelled when the freight operator’s requirements changed.SENRUG Charter 2008 at Bedlington. Photo by John Brierley.
In March 2009 Geoff Hoon (Secretary of State for Transport) toured the scheme and SENRUG presented the case for the re-opening to him. By June 2009 ATOC had expressed support in their “Connecting Communities” report.
March 2010 saw SENRUG organising a “hustings” meeting prior to General Election and all 3 parliamentary candidates promise to support the scheme and in November 2010 the scheme was included in Northumberland County Council’s Local Transport Plan
June 2013 saw Northumberland County Council launch the GRIP 1 Study with Network Rail. GRIP 2 followed in October 2015 followed by GRIP 3 in the following year when Northumberland County Council set out an ambitious timescale that would have seen trains running by early 2021.
In the end, the line opened on 15th December 2024, but with only two of the six stations opening at that time (Ashington & Seaton Delaval), but we look forward to the whole scheme being completed during 2025 with all stations targeted currently to be open by the end of the year.
Campaigns involve a lot of work over a long period of time. As well as meeting with the people who have the power to make decisions SENRUG didn’t forget the power of the community. In April 2014 they organised a schools competition to commemorate 50th anniversary of closure They asked schools to create a 5-8 minute video setting out the business case for re-opening the line. The winning team from Hirst Park Middle School were taken to Westminster to present their video to their MP. You can watch their video here. The competition provided a great educational experience for the schools and generated significant positive media coverage whist helping to build the support in the local communities.
Campaigning continued and in Feb 2019 Chris Grayling (Transport Secretary) paid a visit to the area and spoke encouragingly about the project and the campaign, September 2019 saw Northumberland County Council (NCC) run a public consultation on their proposals for what they now called 'The Northumberland line' and in October 2019 the line was included in DfT's new Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline and we saw the start of design and development work. £1.5m came from government to support development of Northumberland line project and in May 2020 Northumberland County Council committed a further£10m to the project, and we began to see boots on the ground as survey work and ground investigations began. The draft of the North East Transport Plan indicated regional support for the plan and ideas for the use of the line now appear in other places including the Network Rail Traction Decarbonisation plan – a plan that suggests the need to look, in the longer term, at electrification of the new line.
January 2021 saw Government committing a further £34m to allow for land acquisition, completion of detailed design, and for Network Rail to commence early works prior to relevant planning approvals.
In another innovation the project will use the principle of land value capture as a source of funding. There is little doubt that the value of land and property is increased when new public transport infrastructure is built, and the idea of funding transport infrastructure by ‘capturing’ a share of these increased values isn’t entirely new but has always been seen as difficult to achieve in practice. However, Edinburgh Rail (better known as E-Rail), commissioned by Northumberland County Council, have developed a method of doing so. Twenty one development sites that might see a significant increase in value as a result of the investment in the railway have been identified and negotiations with the owners are ongoing. Whilst details are not as yet in the public domain there are reports that substantial sums will be raised once the developments actually take place. It will be interesting to see how this new source of funding for projects progresses in the longer term.
December 2024: On Sunday 15th, the Northumberland Line was officially opened to the public, a little over 60 years since the last regular passenger trains ran. This was only a partial reopening with only Ashington, and Seaton Delaval stations opened so far, but the remainder are due to be opened during 2025.
What do we get for the money?
As well new stations at Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington and Ashington the Northumberland Line has seen 18 miles of track upgraded with several new crossings, passing loops, and bridges.The final cost for the route has been £336.4m, about £130m above initial projections, but driven by factors such as high inflation by materials such as steel, and additional ground works to stabilise old mine workings.
SENRUG Charter 2008 crossing River Wansbeck. Photo by Graham Galbraith.
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