I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, it has been a fantastic year for the Northumberland Coast Loop campaign.
Thank you for all your support and backing our proposal for regular rail services between Newcastle and Berwick via Bedlington; it is a obvious next step after the Northumberland Line, giving greater within Northumberland connectivity, as well as beyond the county if the route is extended north into Scotland, or south/west into County Durham on either the ECML or the Durham Coast, or along the Tyne Valley Line respectively.
The couple of weeks has seen the partial opening of the Northumberland Line, with Ashington, and Seaton Delaval stations now open for passengers, and appearing thus far to be well patronised, long may it continue!
Looking forward to 2025
2025 marks the 200th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), seen as a key landmark in the transition from the somewhat ancient technology of the waggonway (dating back to around 1609 in Bedlington alone, and itself a development of systems dating back to Ancient Greece).
One such example of ‘railways’ being in development long before the S&DR is the Tanfield Railway, which marks its 300th anniversary in 2025, built a full century before the S&DR.
With these anniversaries rapidly approaching, there will surely be a focus upon the railways in North East England more generally, so hopefully will bring a renewed positivity and ‘can do’ approach along with it.
The Northumberland Line
Looking forward into 2025, there is much cause for optimism, with Newsham station likely to be completed next in around February 2025, and further stations at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, and Northumberland Park due for completion later in the year (as yet unconfirmed dates).
The feedback generally on social media indicates that the Northumberland Line has been very well received by the local population, with its ease of use and great ticket pricing proving highly attractive thus far.
‘The Seven Counties Rambler’ by the SRPS
Almost as if to prove how easy a Northumberland Coast Loop service could be to implement, the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) is running ‘The Seven Counties Rambler’ on Saturday the 8th March 2025, which will see a pair of Class 37’s (one of which is due to be 37403 ‘Isle of Mull’) over the route on the evening’s return leg to Scotland.
It isn’t due to stop at any of the Northumberland Line stations, but it shows the potential for such tours to do so in the future, or for regular, ‘ordinary’ trains to run via this route in the near future, which is what this campaign in centred around, as it could allow many more trips to be made car-free by making public transport much more viable both within Northumberland, but also to reach places outside, or for inward travel to destinations along the Northumberland Line coming from the north.
December 2025 Timetable Change
The above article from the Northumberland Gazette highlights the challenges faced in the December 2025 timetable change; which while offering some improvements on some services, has also resulted in the loss of others, notably some LNER services and specifically the 08:10 service between Alnmouth and Newcastle being lost, which is an important one for local commuters travelling into Newcastle.
We would support the idea that while any improvement in long distance services running through Northumberland is welcomed, it needs to not come at the loss/slowing down of existing local services, and ideally, both should be improved together.
As stated in a previous post, the section of the ECML between Berwick Upon Tweed and Pegswood had almost one million rail users by ORR statistics between April 2023 and March 2024, mostly concentrated around Berwick and Alnmouth stations. There is, however, the opportunity for existing smaller stations like Chathill, or new ones at say Belford to massively increase these numbers, given the regions’ popularity for tourism; places like Lindisfarne (Holy Island) seeing 800,000 visitors a year for example could be a significant market for rail to tap into.
What we would like to see is a strategy for the ECML in Northumberland to better balance these objectives of fast, through services between Edinburgh and Newcastle ALONGSIDE the semi-fast and local services calling at smaller stations in Northumberland.
Infrastructure Upgrades
The following list is just a few ideas, and not a definitive list of interventions that might be needed on the ECML to improve capacity.
Signalling/Electrical Supply?
Are there any relatively simple fixes with signalling and/or electrical supply that might allow improvements in line capacity in the short-term? This could be tied into provision of electric trains for local services on the ECML which has long been discussed, but never openly actioned.
Platforms/Stations added to loops?
Could platforms be added to loops such as those at Chevington/Alnmouth/Belford to allow stopping trains to be stopped off the mainline, and improve line capacity that way?
Morpeth Diversion?
Does this require the long touted Morpeth Diversion to be built (which would allow fast through trains to avoid the notorious Morpeth Curve, allowing more stopping services at Morpeth itself, speeding up through trains, and allowing more services branching to/from Bedlington, both to/from Morpeth, but also for the Northumberland Coast Loop?
Just some food for thought in amongst the festivities!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
RH.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 