A recent announcement from Northumberland County Council puts the passenger use of the Northumberland Line at 500,000 since opening in December 2024.
This is fantastic news for the reopening scheme, which has achieved this half million passenger figure despite still only having three of the six planned stations open as of today, with Ashington, Newsham, and Seaton Delaval serving passengers, witb Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, and Northumberland Park yet to be completed and opened for traffic.
Completion of Stations and Service Expansion?
The next station due to be completed is Blyth Bebside station, an announcement on which will hopefully be made soon as opening is anticipated for late summer/early autumn 2025; Bedlington, and Northumberland Park are now not due to open until early 2026.
Seeing these stations completed will be fantastic for the Northumberland Line, but given the huge popularity and success of the route, thoughts should also be focussed on the next phases of the route to expand it and serve more places.
The Northumberland Coast Loop could be an obvious ‘next step’; unlike the proposal to head to Newbiggin, where track has been lifted for decades, the line from Bedlington to Pegswood via Choppington has been in regular use several times per week for the North Blyth to Fort William ‘Alcan’ freight train, as well as it’s past use for coal trains bound for Blyth Power Station/Port of Blyth until this traffic ceased, and for occasional diversions around Morpeth as and when required.
While this route has never before had a passenger service, due to only being completed in its present form c.1980, 16 years after passenger trains on the old ‘Blyth and Tyne Lines’ ceased in 1964, the reopening of stations has changed that situation dramatically, meaning a route between Newcastle and Berwick/Edinburgh via Bedlington would now have stations to call at.
This route would vastly improve public transport connectivity in Northumberland, giving faster, more direct rail connections between the large population centres in the south east of Northumberland and settlements/visitor attractions in the north of Northumberland.
A petition on Change.org to support this route now has 852 signatures, showing the high level of support this proposal has gained over the last couple of years that it has been put forward.
To sign this petition, please visit this link: https://chng.it/zThXj8HBpY
The Northumberland Coast Loop 