First of all, I’d like to wish all readers of the blog a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, it has been a busy one lately with work and family commitments but starting to catch back up now!
Sensational Stats
The release of passenger figures in recent weeks has shown a tremendous number of people travelling by train to, from, and within Northumberland; from Berwick Upon Tweed having over 707,000 passengers per year, to even seeing modest, but still significant growth on stations only served by the ‘Chathill Flyer’.
The amazing success of the Ashington – Newcastle ‘Northumberland Line’ is still fae beyond even the most optimistic expectations; on its anniversary back in the 15th December, it was announced to have had over 920,000 passengers since it opened a year before in December 2024!
Even for this campaign, the progress it has made this year is astonishing, with 18,378 visitors since 1st January 2025 viewing the website and blog posts 21,710 times as of 23.12.25.
Petitions Progress
Northumberland Coast Loop: Newcastle to Edinburgh via Blyth Rail Service
In a similar success, the Newcastle to Edinburgh via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park petition is also continuing to make progress, with 1047 signatures gathered so far, with that number steadily increasing day by day.
The need for this route to be implemented ASAP is clear from announcements such as that made on 20th December 2025, where high passenger numbers were expected to lead to very busy trains; a way to alleviate it relatively quickly could be to use the through route made possible by the Bedlington to Pegswood line to run some diesel or bi-mode trains currently used on the ECML between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Cramlington to instead run via Blyth.
As can be seen from the huge success of the line to date, the extension of Sunday trains to MetroCentre, and talk of future expansion to Newbiggin by the Sea, we don’t need to await the completion of the line to implement the Northumberland Coast Loop route, and possibly it could be put in place by May 2026?
Alnwick, Alnmouth Station, and Amble ‘Bus Meets Train’ Bus Service
A second campaign for better, dedicated bus connections from Alnwick and Amble to Alnmouth station is also performing strongly, with 882 signatures gained so far, but as ever, more signatures are always welcomed!
Reopening of Choppington Station
A more recent petition has been launched to build support for a new railway station to be built at Choppington, on the line linking Bedlington to Pegswood and Morpeth, which could be served by both Northumberland Coast Loop services, as well as the long-proposed Bedlington – Newcastle via Morpeth service, so would be in a well-positioned location to be well served by new rail services, and if located near the A1068, could be an excellent interchange location for local buses too.
If you can, please support the petitions above, as nearer to New Year 2026, I’ll be writing a small number of letters to local politicians to raise
The Northumberland Coast Loop 