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A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.

Keswick: A ‘Virtual’ Railway Station for the Lake District town? A recent article from Rail Advent has shown an interesting way that the town of Keswick, in Cumbria, has gained a new ‘station’ on the national network, served not by trains, but by buses. In the article, it describes how Keswick has a ‘virtual railwayContinue reading “A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.”

Petition Progress!

A great start to April with continued progression of both petitions, and a sizeable growth in both since the last post on the blog on 4.4.25. Newcastle – Northumberland Park – Blyth Bebside – Edinburgh Rail Service As of 6.4.25, the rail service petition now stands at 264 signatures, great progress over the last fewContinue reading “Petition Progress!”

Early April Update from the N.C.L.

There have been a number of positive news releases in recent days, so here is a short post to tie them together and a lot of optimism for the future! Northumberland Line The Northumberland Line continues strong performance since opening, with a recent announcement that 250,000 trips on the route are expected by Easter 2025, justContinue reading “Early April Update from the N.C.L.”

Quick guide to the Borderline Greenway in Alnwick

The Alnwick end of the route is near to Weavers’ Court Extra Care Scheme, Swordy Drive, Alnwick NE66 1SZ; this building is home to a canny little cafe within if you’d like a tea, coffee, piece of cake, or hot food before or after your walk! To reach the Borderline Greenway, walk along the footpathContinue reading “Quick guide to the Borderline Greenway in Alnwick”

Exploring the Borderline Greenway, Alnwick 30.3.25

Yesterday (29.3.25) at 11am, the long awaited Borderline Greenway, which runs along a currently short section of the former Alnwick and Cornhill Railway finally officially opened to the public. Click here to view The Chronicle coverage of the opening event. The railway on this stretch opened in 1887 for traffic as a through route fromContinue reading “Exploring the Borderline Greenway, Alnwick 30.3.25”

Green Signals Podcast on the North Blyth – Fort William Alumina; can we see a North Blyth to the Border or Beyond Video?

In Episode 48 of the excellent Green Signals podcast, presenter Richard Bowker takes a trip with GBRf CEO John Smith on the North Blyth to Fort William alumina train (the ‘Alcan tanks’), starting at c.17:00 minutes into the above video, it showcases the route from Springburn, near Glasgow to Spean Bridge, near Fort William in Scotland,Continue reading “Green Signals Podcast on the North Blyth – Fort William Alumina; can we see a North Blyth to the Border or Beyond Video?”

Northumberland Line: Nearing Quarter of a Million Passenger Trips & Future Expansion Plans

News has just broken from The Chronicle that the Northumberland Line is expected to reach 250,000 trips by Easter 2025; mere months after opening in December 2025, and with only half of the stations opened. This is excellent news for the route, which has seen reopening campaigns since the mid 1970’s, with a meeting betweenContinue reading “Northumberland Line: Nearing Quarter of a Million Passenger Trips & Future Expansion Plans”

Call to Kim McGuinness: Invest in the ECML and N.C.L. in Northumberland, and drop dualling the A1.

There has been a recent, and largely very welcome announcement in recent days about a £208m transport investment, part of a larger overall ‘£8.3bn transport vision’ which includes welcome schemes such as reopening of the Leamside Line, integrated ticketing, and wider public transport and active travel improvements. That being said, dualling the A1 has onceContinue reading “Call to Kim McGuinness: Invest in the ECML and N.C.L. in Northumberland, and drop dualling the A1.”

Achtung! Achtung! Walking the Northumberland Coast Loop: Morpeth Railway Station to Morpeth North Junction

To borrow the phrase often used on the ‘We have ways of making you talk’ a WW2 podcast by comedian Al Murray and historian James Holland, let us ‘walk the ground’ of Northumberland Coast Loop for the short section between Pegswood and Bedlington that, so far, is not used regularly for passenger trains. This routeContinue reading “Achtung! Achtung! Walking the Northumberland Coast Loop: Morpeth Railway Station to Morpeth North Junction”

The N.C.L. an option to alleviate Northumberland Line overloading?

It is great to see that the first 100 days of the Northumberland Line (Sunday 15th December 2024 to Monday 24th March 2025), the recently reopened route is an undoubted success. On the flip side of this, some trains are proving so popular that at peak times there are not enough trains to satisfy demand;Continue reading “The N.C.L. an option to alleviate Northumberland Line overloading?”