The previous post covered Bedlington Station services, which would see two services running through the station (Northumberland Line services to/from Ashington, alongside the potential N’land Coast Loop services between Newcastle and Berwick), and a terminating service coming from Morpeth (this is the current Carlisle – Newcastle ‘Northern’ train being extended to Bedlington).
While Bedlington is a station that closed in 1964, Acklington has been open since 1st July 1847 when it opened as part of the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (part of todays East Coast Main Line (ECML), so has been open for almost 177 years continuously.
Minimal Service Today
Somewhat sadly, Acklington has the distinction of being one of the least used stations in the UK, and was featured in a YouTube series by Geoff Marshall: Acklington: Least Used Station in Northumberland, largely due to the minimal timetable imposed since 1991 which sees only the ‘Chathill Flyer’ three times per day (one southbound call in the morning at Acklington, and one in each direction in the evening), this being a great example of how a minimal service attracts some use but more trains calling are needed desperately to improve the usage of the station.
This current service is also limited in not connecting Acklington to Berwick, with only Alnmouth and Chathill stations to the north, and Widdrington, Pegswood, Morpeth, Cramlington, Manors and Newcastle to the south (the train does continue onto the Tyne Valley towards Carlisle and comes from Carlisle on way north, connecting towns such as Prudhoe and Hexham to Acklington).
ECML Service Proposal
There has been research carried out on behalf of Northumberland County Council, Northern and the local rail user groups by Systra in 2019, that identified that an hourly local service (train each hour in each direction) was possible AND commercially viable if current diesel units were replaced by electric ones.
This service would be transformational for a station such as Acklington and would almost certainly produce a substantial increase in ridership.
This service, having already been evaluated and assessed is the priority for the station and local area and hopefully can be implemented with minimal delays. To support this happening, particularly in this election year, please contact your incumbent and prospective MP’s and share with them the Railfuture: North of Morpeth webpage to highlight this ‘quick win’ of a scheme to improve rail connectivity between Newcastle and Berwick (the latter connection being re-established)
N.C.L Service Proposal
Local services taking the Northumberland Coast Loop route could also provide some additional service to Acklington, giving direct connections to South East Northumberland and North Tyneside, with direct links to Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park (interchange with Tyne and Wear Metro).
The details of service frequency would need investigation by a body such as Systra, but ideally a service of 4/5 trains per direction per day could be considered a minimum in the long term.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 