Northumberland Line

Northumberland Line
A freight train crossing North Seaton Viaduct (the Black Bridge) over the River Wansbeck between Bedlington and Ashington
Overview
StatusUnder construction
OwnerNetwork Rail
Locale
Termini
Stations
  • 2 (existing)
  • 6 (planned)
Websitehttps://www.northumberlandline.uk/
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)Northern Trains
History
Opened2024-2025 (planned)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

(Click to expand)

The Northumberland Line is a railway project under construction in North East England; it is aimed at reintroducing passenger rail services to freight-only lines in South East Northumberland. Under the scheme, a new passenger service will link some of Northumberland's major population centres in Ashington and Blyth to the nearby city of Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] Construction of new stations and works to upgrade the existing rail infrastructure to bring it up to passenger-carrying standards was reported as having begun by late August 2022.[2] The first anticipated launch date of the new passenger service was December 2023.[3] However, this was pushed back, first to the summer of 2024 and then in August it changed to December, when three of the new stations will be opened.[4][5][6] The rest of the stations will open in 2025.[7]

The new passenger service will run on lines which formerly constituted part of the Blyth and Tyne Railway system, a once-extensive railway network that historically covered much of South East Northumberland. Most of the lines being utilised as part of this project have been without passenger services since 1964, when they were withdrawn as part of the Beeching cuts.[8]

  1. ^ Sherratt, Philip (25 January 2018). "NEW LINK FOR Northumberland". Modern Railways. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Sharnford Close Work". Northumberland Line. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  3. ^ Holland, Daniel (29 June 2022). "Six new railway stations and half-hourly trains: What you need to know about the Northumberland Line - Chronicle Live". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ markellis32 (17 January 2024). "Passenger Services Confirmed for Summer 2024". Northumberland Line. Retrieved 18 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Hall, Daniel (2 August 2024). "Final cost of Northumberland Line £130m more than estimated with services pushed back to December". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. ^ Smith, Ian (2 August 2024). "Rail services on new Northumberland Line now set to start in December as near-£300m anticipated cost revealed". Northumberland Gazette. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Return of railway line could be extended to more towns". BBC. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Ashington Targets 2023 Opening". Modern Railways. Retrieved 4 March 2022.