Below is a quick summary of the Northumberland Coast Loop Rail Campaign
Lifetime near the Line
I have spent all 34 years of my life living in Northumberland, and always within a few miles of the proposed rail route; it is a place I know very well and love deeply.
The railways of this area were borne out of a need to shift coal in vast quantities from pit to port and power stations, a use that has now disappeared entirely; the main purpose of the railways going forward is the movement of people, with some goods movement alongside.
The Northumberland Line is already proving, despite being only being partially opened a huge success in this regard, having already carried 110,000 passengers within the first 12 weeks since opening (approximately 9000 per week) from just two of the six new stations.
The Northumberland Coast Loop route aims to build on this success by utilising the direct route between Bedlington and Pegswood (the Morpeth North Curve and Hepscott Line) to give most of the stations on the Northumberland Line a chance of direct connections to North Northumberland, and for Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park, potentially direct links to Edinburgh too.
Born and bred in south east Northumberland
1990 to c.2016: Raised in Bedlington, I lived encircled by railways; the East Coast Main Line (ECML) to the west, and the former ‘Blyth and Tyne’ lines to the north, east and south; any significant distance from home meant crossing one line or another.
During this time, the campaigns to reopen parts of the former ‘Blyth and Tyne Railway’ network are gaining significant traction and building momentum year on year.
The first significant step was the then MP for Wansbeck Denis Murphy announcing his support in April 1999 in the House of Commons.
2016: Moved north to Alnwick, and began using rail services more regularly to Newcastle, but commuting by car daily to SE Northumberland for work.
This highlighted the poor public transport connectivity between North Northumberland and SE Northumberland further, being used only occasionally due to lack of car access but not a viable option due to extremely long travel times and risk of being late for work.
The opening of the Borders Railway in September 2015, and it’s huge popularity from the outset gave a major boost to the potential for the Ashington to Newcastle rail service being re-established, and wider expansion of the rail network.
The ‘Lightbulb Moment’
March 2017: The ‘Bound for Craigy’ Railtour by the Branchline Society runs from Newcastle to Edinburgh via Bedlington and Pegswood on the 18th March 2017.
This railtour, coupled with the growing momentum behind reopening stations was the inspiration behind a Newcastle to Berwick/Edinburgh service via Bedlington rail service if/when the stations between Bedlington and Newcastle were reopened.
Whilst the plans to reopen what became the Northumberland Line were progressing though the GRIP process, it was at the time still far from certain that the scheme would happen.
Later in 2017, I found out I was to become a father, and welcomed my first daughter into the world shortly before Christmas that year; then becoming a father a second time in 2019 to another daughter meant that time was more limited for rail campaigning but continued by supporting other organisations that I was a member of at the time.
February 2021: First petition started for an enhanced local rail service on the ECML between Newcastle and Berwick.
May 2021: The Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) for the now ‘Northumberland Line’ is submitted to the UK Department for Transport.
November 2021: Storm Arwen hits Northumberland, and whilst being aware of, and concerned by Climate Change prior to this, having two small children in the midst of that storm (98mph winds were recorded at nearby Brizlee Woods), was a wake up call. Growing up in Northumberland meant being used to strong winds and storms, but Arwen was a very different, and much more severe storm than I can recall in my lifetime.
This led me to look more closely at my own stance on climate change, and to look at proposals for reducing carbon emissions at all levels could take place. The long discussed dualling of the A1 for example was due to release 1.44m tonnes of CO², alongside other negative impacts, which led to my public opposition to it being published in February 2022.
While the A1 was opposed, it is not in my view reasonable to restrict travel except in emergencies such as the pandemic; people want and need to travel, so it needs to be enabled by greener modes of transport to replace the use of private cars. The clear candidate for the A1 corridor between Newcastle and Edinburgh, is better use of the ECML between those cities and the towns/villages on route.
June 2022: The Northumberland Line TWAO is granted and works begin on the line, with appointment of Morgan Sindall to design and build stations, footbridges, and undertake major track upgrade works.
The Campaign begins proper!
February 2023: The first public blog post for the then ‘Northumberland Loop Line‘ is made as by then the Northumberland Line scheme is well underway, and is triggered by general discussions online about the next steps beyond the Northumberland Line such as expansions to Newbiggin by the Sea.
The use of the rail route west from Bedlington, and joining the East Coast Main Line at Pegswood would allow public transport to and from SE Northumberland where I grew up to be competitive with car travel to North Northumberland and Scotland, places I, and many family, friends, and work colleagues would travel to regularly.
October 2023: The first petition for the ‘Northumberland Loop’ is launched on change.org.
January 2024: The campaign is slightly renamed for clarity to the Northumberland Coast Loop, and a dedicated website is launched (northumberlandcoastloop.uk).
June 2024: The ‘Blyth and Tyne Mini-Tour’ by UK Railtours runs from Newcastle to Bedlington Furnaceway Sidings and return on the 8th June 2024 (an alteration from the proposed Newcastle – Bedlington – Morpeth – Newcastle route due to a line blockade at the time between Benton Junction and Bebside). This was my first trip over the line by rail, and gave a good opportunity to take a video record of the route from Bedlington Station to Hepscott Junction on a glorious June day.
September 2024: The first Northumberland Loop petition is published in the Northumberland Gazette.
October 2024: The first petition for the then ‘Northumberland Loop’ is ended, due to the subtle name change of the campaign, but has gained 742 signatures in that time.
It is submitted by email to Councillor H.G.H. Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council who returns warm words of support for the route via email.
December 2024: The Northumberland Line opens to traffic on 15th December. I take my first trip from Ashington to Newcastle about a week later due to illness at the time the line first opened. At this time, only Ashington and Seaton Delaval stations are open for traffic.
January 2025: Over the course of the year, the dedicated website has gained 7,740 views by 6,440 visitors.
February 2025: On the 11th February, I was invited to a meeting at Ian Lavery’s office in Ashington to meet with his staff and to put forward the Northumberland Coast Loop proposals in person.
Following a popular suggestion, a second petition was started for a Newcastle to Edinburgh via Bedlington Rail Service, which at time of writing (16.3.25) has 191 signatures.
March 2025: On Saturday 8th March 2025, I was a passenger aboard the Scottish Railway Preservation (SRPS) Railtours ‘The Seven Counties Rambler‘, of which part of its route ran along the proposed Northumberland Coast Loop, from Newcastle to Edinburgh via Bedlington.
This railtour was an excellent opportunity to take the full proposed route from Newcastle to Edinburgh via Bedlington via most of the either newly opened or still under construction Northumberland Line stations.
On the 14th March, I received another meeting invitation, and will release news on this nearer the time.
Tomorrow, Monday the 17th March 2025 is the expected opening day of Newsham station on the Northumberland Line, bringing the line a big step closer to completion.
August 2025: Another railtour by UK Railtours ‘The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Waverley Weekender‘ is due over the N.C.L. route on its return south on Monday 25th August 2025, coming off the ECML at Morpeth North Junction, and heading south via Bedlington towards Newcastle and ultimately London.
Thanks for reading, and if you would like to support the campaign, please feel free to drop a donation via my Ko-fi page, which will help me with costs such as running this website and attending meetings.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 