Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park As of the 10th May 2025, the petition to ‘Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park‘ has gained 330 signatures. This route would better enable ‘within Northumberland’ trips by rail, such as Berwick and Alnmouth (forContinue reading “Petition Progress – 761 Signatures Towards Better Northumberland Rail and Bus Services”
Category Archives: Northumberland Coast Loop
More trains to Chathill Station on 18th & 19th October 2025?
On the 18th and 19th October 2025, the Northumberland Vintage Tractor Club (NVTC) is holding their annual rally at the nearby former Brunton Airfield. A few photos from my visit in 2024 are shown below. Please note that the opinions expressed below are those of myself, not those of NVTC or of any other organisation.Continue reading “More trains to Chathill Station on 18th & 19th October 2025?”
The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations
Inspired by the latest Railnatter episode (No. 258 ‘Data, maps and how to use them (with Will Deakin), it revealed some sources of data to augment the case for direct northbound rail travel from stations now opened and soon to open on the Northumberland Line. One of these sources was railwaydata.co.uk, which was used toContinue reading “The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations”
The N.C.L. an opportunity to extend the Metro Fare Zone to Berwick Upon Tweed?
The Northumberland Line has just passed the 230,000 passenger mark according to a recent headline in RAIL Magazine, and a large part of this success is likely due to the line being within the Tyne and Wear Metro fare zone, meaning a low price cap for tickets, but could this zone be extended northwards toContinue reading “The N.C.L. an opportunity to extend the Metro Fare Zone to Berwick Upon Tweed?”
Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Northumberland Coast Loop, April 2025
Presentation on the Past On Tuesday 15th April, I attended an excellent presentation, hosted by Morgan Sindall and delivered by local historian Ed Orwin called ‘Newcastle to Ashington By Train: A Journey Through Time’. This was hosted at the brilliant Energy Central Learning Hub building on Quay Road in Blyth, Northumberland, and in the roomContinue reading “Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Northumberland Coast Loop, April 2025”
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.”
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.”
The Northumberland Coast Loop 