Please click this link: https://neptug.org.uk/nlandapr26/ for full information on how to join the meeting.
NEWS: NEPTUG Northumberland Branch meeting on 1st April 2026
The Forth, Blyth and Tyne rail route update 21.3.26
A little update on the campaign to date!
Petition progress to date
As of 21.3.26, the petition for the route (Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park on Change.org) now stands at an amazing 1,142 signatures, and steadily continues to grow. Please click the link above if you haven’t already done so.
The above petition is now well ahead of the 2008 SENRUG petition for the passenger reopening of the ‘Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line’ submitted to 10 Downing Street which attracted 1094 signatures. Whilst now styled as the ‘Northumberland Line’, this route has to date seen over 1.2million passenger journeys, meaning one signature on a rail petition may represent around 1000 real railway journeys (1094×1000=1.09m).
Email correspondence with Cllr Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council
On New Years Eve 2025 (31.12.25) I again wrote to Cllr H.G.H Sanderson, following a previous email on 8th October 2024 which I received a same day response from, with both emails putting forward the progressing campaign for the Northumberland Coast Loop.
To date, I have unfortunately not yet received a reply from my email that was sent on the 31st December 2025, but with Bedlington station due to open on the 29th March 2026, marking the completion of the current scheme, I will once again raise the Northumberland Coast Loop with Cllr Sanderson with a few to taking the proposal forward.
Extra carriages and Newbiggin by the Sea extension announcement?
In a recent video shared on Facebook by Cllr Daniel Carr, Leader of NCC Cllr Glen Sanderson referred to a recent North East Combined Authority (NECA) cabinet meeting that long-sought-after extra carriages were to arrive ‘very soon’ on the Northumberland Line (no actual date confirmed in video clip) and that £450,000 has been made available for a feasibility study into an extension to the Northumberland Line, and that a planning application could be submitted in 2028. It doesn’t refer specifically to Newbiggin by the Sea, but presumably this is the extension being referred to?
That is unless the feasibility study looks into both the Northumberland Coast Loop and Newbiggin by the Sea routes for expansion?
Confirmation on this would be good to see, but the Northumberland Coast Loop has a clear advantage in being a working, but fairly little used freight line through Hepscott connecting two very busy passenger railways (Northumberland Line and the ECML (East Coast Main Line) between Newcastle and Edinburgh together from Bedlington at the east end on the Northumberland Line to Morpeth and Pegswood on the ECML. This line has existed in the current layout since c.1980 when Morpeth North Curve was completed.
In contrast, the Newbiggin extension presumably relies on rebuilding a section of railway into the village, with a branch off the current line to Lynemouth Power Station in the region of where this line passes over the A189; this would need fairly significant earthworks to bring the old alignment to a suitable height to join the existing railway east of the A189 bridge, or even more so to clear the road (including a new bridge span) if the rail junction is placed on the west side of the A189 nearer to Woodhorn Museum?
As stated in many previous blog posts, trains have run on the Northumberland Coast Loop route for decades (as diversions or as railtours, with the last to my knowledge being ‘The Seven Counties Rambler’ to successfully run the route on 8th March 2025, just over a year ago.
To me, using ‘the loop’ route first to boost train capacity, and also to give new direct links perhaps makes the most sense over extending the line beyond Ashington; more trains on the ‘core’ section from Bedlington to Newcastle would add more seating capacity both in absolute terms, of the seats in each direction per hour, but also in terms of released capacity; a passenger starting from Ashington could transfer onto a northbound train via Hepscott at Blyth Bebside, which would then free up the seat on the route into Newcastle. Similarly, a person bound for Blyth on the ‘loop’ train would alight at Blyth Bebside, their seat being taken by the passenger from Ashington heading north.
Lets use the existing network to full advantage alongside the reopening long closed routes?
Thanks for reading, RH.
Please note: Header image created by GeminiAI, not a real locomotive/rolling stock/location.
NEWS: CRAG proposes more trains to stop at Chathill.
An article today in the Northumberland Gazette: ‘North Northumberland rail campaign group proposes solution to tackle transport poverty‘ discusses the proposal put forward by the Chathill Rail Action Group (CRAG) to help ease the transport poverty problem in North Northumberland, many residents of which don’t have access to a private car, but also places many at a huge connectivity disadvantage, which is covered in a separate article by the Northumberland Gazette below.
The currently underused station at Chathill only sees four trains each day, made up of two in each direction; comprising a morning and evening service, which comes from and returns to Newcastle Central operated by Northern, locally nicknamed the ‘Chathill Flyer’.
There are some hurdles (though not impossible ones) to overcome for a true local service (all stations between Newcastle and Berwick), but a potentially quick fix is put forward by CRAG to use other services.
The CRAG proposals centre around stopping some of the TransPennine Express services that currently race through the station to give Chathill a more frequent and fast service, and serve this area of Northumberland which is located quite a distance from the other stations at Alnmouth and Berwick with a faster rail connection to both Newcastle, but also presumably all the way to Edinburgh too; reinstating a long lost northward connection from Chathill.
Small change for a big reward
The approach by CRAG is a reasonable one; using a small timetable alteration to an existing service to massively upgrade the service pattern at Chathill.
This service would be relatively modest compared to the services calling at Alnmouth or Berwick, but would put Chathill into a similar service pattern that is seen at Reston station just over the border in Scotland, and due to this better rail service, Reston station had 29,896 recorded passenger journeys in the 2024/25 ticketing year, compared to Chathill which in the same time period had just 1,580 passengers, 5.3% of the number travelling to and from Reston.
Reston railway station reopened in May 2022 after a £20m investment on the Scottish side of the border, but on the English side, a station open since 29th March 1847 (almost 179 years at time of writing) and never closed sees far fewer trains each day, despite being an asset that is arguably worth tens of millions of pounds when considered against a new station being built elsewhere, and being better utilised could be a massive economic boost to the North Northumberland economy.
Lets hope that CRAG sees success with their campaign, and TPE begins to call at Chathill sooner rather than later?
North Northumberland Students struggling financially to get to Newcastle by rail
In a very similar vein to the CRAG post above, is this one from January 2026 and calls by Cllr Georgina Hill of Berwick for greater support for Northumbrian post-16 students in Berwick to have support to reach Newcastle to study.
Like the CRAG post above it highlights the important part the ECML plays in getting students (most of whom are too young to drive, and even if holding a licence are inexperienced and at higher risk than other drivers) to colleges such as those in Newcastle and to a lesser extent Ashington given the large distances involved in this very large county.
At Berwick, the issue is more financially based due to the wider range of potential rail services already available, the issue being railcards changing from a larger discount of 50% to only ⅓ off after the students 18th birthday, meaning a much larger financial gap needing to be made up by parents or the students themselves.
In an ideal world, the brilliant value of the Northumberland Line fares might be extended onto other routes; this has already been called for along the Tyne Valley Line by Cllr Derek Kennedy of Hexham West Ward, but could also be extended north to Berwick along the ECML too.
Northumberland Coast Loop to reach College or University?
The issue of reaching colleges is also one that the Northumberland Coast Loop route could contribute to making easier; a direct link from Berwick, Chathill, and Alnmouth to Blyth Bebside would put Ashington within very easy reach by a short train trip from Blyth Bebside to Ashington, just one change of train and a much shorter journey.
In addition, colleges such as Tyne Metropolitan College in Wallsend could perhaps be more easily reached from Northumberland Park, as could Coach Lane campus of Northumbria University.
Better and cheaper rail connections for Northumberland
Taken together, it can be seen that Northumberland as a whole would clearly benefit from both a wide range of rail services into Newcastle direct, but also taking in the proposed ‘loop’ route via Blyth, which if extended beyond Newcastle onto the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham or beyond could offer an excellent ‘colleges connection’ service linking not only to Newcastle, but also those in North Tyneside and Ashington too.
As of 17th March 2026, the petition for the Northumberland Coast Loop stands at 1,137 signatures, but it is still open for even more signatures if you’d like to add yours!
NEWS: Arriva Service 3 starting soon!
Please note that the new Blyth Bus Station to Blyth Bebside Railway Station direct bus service 3 starts on 22nd March 2026.
For more information, please click here: https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/latest-news/service-improvements-in-northumberland-%26-tyne-and-wear?fbclid=IwdGRzaAQl2o1jbGNrBCXaeGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHrcX9SZWtZYRjpg_At_LExalDEHG8X70h5TJMVq-9usTz-PvrR8ZbIEgCgYT_aem_5BbwtB-Nw-mdU7sspZPuiA
North East Bylines: Northumberland Coast Loop inferred and from coal to commuting.
An interesting article from North East Bylines ‘A tale of two branch lines’ by Mark Corner which comes very close to mentioning the Northumberland Coast Loop campaign except in name, but it is a great read and I’d wholly recommend doing so!
If the original writer, or any other wishes to write about the Northumberland Coast Loop, please feel welcome to do so.
Please look below for a detailed reply that hopefully outlines a broader case that North East Bylines has outlined in their article.
Petition progress
Destination Northumberland; far from ‘Desolate’
Northumberland could be said to be a ‘forgotten paradise’ between Newcastle and Scotland; we have beautiful places like Bamburgh Castle and its neighbouring beach, magnificent gardens and stately homes, and breathtaking views such as that looking out over Lindisfarne on a beautiful day.
There may be something of the legacy of Northumberland being the place of pitheads and industry; the ‘grim up north’ of old, but Northumberland in 2026 is a picturesque county, with the only pithead left at Woodhorn now an excellent museum, no longer a working pit winning coal. The last deep mine to close, Ellington ‘Big E’ closing suddenly in January 2005.
Indeed back during the 2006 refurbishment at Woodhorn Museum, back when the ‘cutter’ building was being built (now home to Northumberland Archives) I was exremely lucky to visit the site, and get to the very top of the upcast headgear. This is pit with a long personal connection, with my father being photographed at Woodhorn by local photographer Mik Critchlow as part of his ‘Coal Town’ series.
I’m the first of many generations of my family to not be ‘doon the pit’; the economy of Northumberland has fundamentally changed away from getting black diamonds out the pit into power stations or shipped from ports with coal staiths at Amble, Blyth, or on Tyneside.
Personally, I feel a bit of sadness in not following in my family footsteps, but it is also an industry that many fathers, including my own didn’t want their sons to enter; knowing it was a dangerous job, and one that could leave a significant impact on a miner’s health too. Members of my own family loss their lives underground. It is a complex relationship of both pride in the hard graft of my forebears, but also an appreciation of the terrible sacrifices made to keep their families fed; risking your health and life at work is thankfully something that most now avoid.
These changes to the employment and economic basis of Northumberland is highly relevant to what the railways now find themselves suited for. Gone are the thousands of coal waggons trundling from pit to port or power station loaded with coal and empties heading back again, the modern railway very much relies on commuters, leisure travel, and business people, with freight now mostly in shipping containers as part of international supply chains, or other bulk commodities such as biomass, stone, cement, and alumina.
From horse drawn waggons to 125mph InterCity expresses!
From a start with possibly the first wooden waggonways in the regiom in 1609, this part of Northumberland continued to be an important area for development of the modern railway we know today. Developments such as the malleable iron rail developed by John Birkinshaw in 1820 and used extensively on the famous Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Bedlington was also the birthplace and the childhood home of GWR locomotive engineer Sir Daniel Gooch, who worked closely alongside Isambard Kingdom Brunel and brought a bit of ‘Geordie genius’ to the fledging Great Western Railway; it took a Northumbrian lad to make the locos work!
Since 1609, there has been an almost unrecognisable change from horse drawn wooden waggons on wooden rails, through steam and diesel power, to 125mph all electric trains running just a few miles away on the East Coast Main Line (ECML).
The local lines survived the post-war total closure of many routes due to the coal industry and other local heavy industries such as aluminium smelting, but in 1964 the passenger services were taken away after many decades of use.
Indeed, there was some modest investment even in the ‘doldrum’ years of the late 1970’s when the rail network was arguably at its lowest with the building of the Morpeth North Curve to avoid the awkward reversal of trains at Morpeth station to reach Bedlington and Blyth from North Northumberland and beyond.
Happily, in 2024 the long awaited reopening of the Newcastle to Ashington route finally happened as the ‘Northumberland Line’. Campaigns for the reopening of route date back as far as 1974, with an additional article below from 1978 too.
In my own view, this represents a far more secure future as a mixed use railway once again; a very solid use now for passengers alongside the up’s and down’s of railfreight traffic.
The recently reopened Northumberland Line, with every train calling at every station on a ‘drumbeat’ timetable of every half an hour from morning to early evening, then hourly til late is ideal; you almost need not know the timetable. Turn up and go rail services are a winner!
At present, the services use only Class 156 and Class 158 diesel units built in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, many being older than myself!
Whizzing past a wonderful part of the world.
As the article states, it is all to often perceived that the ECML, with branded trains such as LNER (sometimes referred to cheekily as the London, Newcastle and Edinburgh Railway given the relative rarity of intermediate stops) and other operators view Northumberland as somewhere to simply pass through between Edinburgh and Newcastle; a pretty view from the train window as you’re whisked past on a fast express.
There are, in reality a fair range of semi-fast LNER trains calling at Berwick, Alnmouth, and Morpeth, as well as other operators such as TransPennine Express, but there should also be a better range of services also calling at Chathill, Acklington, Widdrington, and Pegswood.
This is perhaps ideally combined with some trains forming a link to the Northumberland Line at Bedlington, and then to Newcastle, a section of line which itself is home to a number of major attractions such as the National Trust operated Seaton Delaval Hall, the aforementioned Woodhorn Colliery (note there isn’t access to the headgear on an ordinary day!), and Blyth Battery to name just a few.
As the NE Bylines article above mentions, trains running between Newcastle and Edinburgh could make better use of the ‘loop’ from Benton Junction to Morpeth North Junction; it effectively acts as a section of 3/4 track railway north of Newcastle if taken alongside the ECML, meaning a slower stopping train could come off the ‘mainline’ for several miles, allowing faster trains to overtake slower ones.
Ecclesiastes 1:9–10: ‘Nothing new under the sun.’
The use of fast (125mph capable trains) on this route is not unprecendented; HST diversions via Bedlington happened on several occasions in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, seen below in a screenshot passing through the disused platform at Bedlington c. 1992.
Had stations on this route remained open, it is likely, in my opinion that a handful of InterCity services would have started running via the old B&T to serve major towns like Blyth, the big barrier being that most of the stations were long closed and demolished by the time the Morpeth North Curve was built and opened up.
Even high speed ‘Electra’ sets (Class 91) have ran via Bedlington, but required to be dragged by a suitable diesel locomotive, as shown below.
In the longer term, electrification of these lines would allow electric trains to traverse the route under their own power, rather than rely on a ‘drag’ by a diesel locomotive.
This ‘alternative’ section of the East Coast could be used to great effect, and solve a number of problems together.
- Wider range of rolling stock to carry Northumberland Line passengers: by diverting just some existing trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh to run via Bedlington, calling at least at Northumberland Park and Blyth Bebside, it could go a long way to easing the crammed carriages on Northern services by adding extra trains to the route.
- A ‘new’ connection within Northumberland; the route via Bedlington would directly link up parts of Northumberland that presently only has a rail connection via Newcastle. A direct route avoids the need to change trains at all on some journeys, which is both more comfortable and more convenient for many rail users.
- Greater railway resilience; a diversionary route being active and regularly used by passenger trains means that any sudden closure of a route can be quickly worked around. Arguably ALL ECML drivers and train crew who learn the route between Newcastle and Edinburgh would benefit from also learning the diversionary route via Bedlington too; so in the event of disruption, both planned and unplanned, the option to go via Bedlington is more easily and quickly available.
- Economic growth: This route via Bedlington would help areas that have long struggled with deindustrialisation to develop new industries or allow commuting to other parts of Northumberland for tourism opportunities, for example Northumbrians from the SE of the county could access work in seasonal tourism businesses such as pubs, cafes etc without the need to use cars or relocate into typically very high value postcode areas, allowing tourism in the more rural parts of Northumberland to benefit urban areas in SE Northumberland.
If you agree, please join the 1116 so far who have signed the petition so far! https://www.change.org/p/start-a-newcastle-edinburgh-rail-service-via-blyth-bebside-and-northumberland-park
Thanks for reading! RH.
NEWS: NEPTUG Northumberland Branch
It was a delight yesterday (Wednesday 4th March 2026) to be a part of establishing the Northumberland Branch of the North East Public Transport Users Group (NEPTUG).
There are branches for most parts of the North East active, with the branches covering local authority areas, so there is a Newcastle Branch and North Tyneside Branch respectively for those council areas.
More info will be coming soon from NEPTUG itself, but if you’re interested in being part of it, which will cover rail, buses, and any other public transport in Northumberland, please take a look at their website here: https://neptug.org.uk/
NEWS: Arriva Service 3: Blyth Bus Station to Blyth Bebside Railway Station
In recent news from Arriva, the major local bus operator in Blyth, Northumberland; there will be starting on Sunday 22nd March between Blyth Bus Station in the Town Centre and Blyth Bebside railway station on the Northumberland Line.
This bus will work three morning buses in each direction leaving the bus station at 06:39, 07:09, and 07:39, arriving at Blyth Bebside station at 07:00, 07:30, and 08:00 respectively, with a decent 14-15 minute margin to meet the 07:14, 07:45, and 08:14 Northern trains towards Newcastle.
In the evenings; the No. 3 bus will depart Blyth Bebside railway station at 17:33, 18:03, and 18:33, having met the 16:55, 17:25, and 17:56 Northumberland Line trains leaving Newcastle. These three buses will arrive back to Blyth Bus Station at 17:54, 18:24, and finally 18:54.
A great sign of bus and rail intergration between the Northumberland Line and local buses at Blyth Bebside, and hopefully a good starting point for this link to be made more frequent throughout the day and with a greater service span (first bus to last bus on the route).
Please click the link below for further information direct from Arriva.
Almost a year on since ‘The Seven Counties Rambler’; need for the Northumberland Coast Loop and six years of Northern being in the DfT.
Today, the 1st of March 2026, is just a week ahead of the first anniversary of ‘The Seven Counties Rambler’ operated by the SRPS (the Scottish Railway Preservation Society) which ran on the 8th March 2025.
Circular Tour: Linlithgow to Linlithgow via Carlisle, Preston, Newcastle, Bedlington, and Edinburgh
A huge circular route around Scotland and Northern England, ‘The Rambler’ began and ended at Linlithgow, heading to Edinburgh, before turning around via some less used lines in Edinburgh, towards Glasgow, then south to Carlisle, and down to Preston via the beautiful Settle and Carlisle Line, before going back to Carlisle up the West Coast Mainline, then along the Tyne Valley Line to Newcastle.
The final leg; Newcastle, Bedlington, and Edinburgh back to Linlithgow
The final leg back to Linlithgow was the interesting part for me, and its relationship to this campaign; as from Newcastle Central, it took then then very recently reopened Northumberland Line to Bedlington, which at the time had only Seaton Delaval station open between Newcastle and Bedlington (Ashington is not on the route, it sitting on the former Newbiggin Branch, itself morphed today into a branchline to Lynemouth Power Station), then using the still freight only line headed west from Bedlington towards the village of Hepscott, just outside of Morpeth.
At Hepscott, at the junction that quite logically is called ‘Hepscott Junction’, allows a further choice; the left hand route from Bedlington heads towards Morpeth station, and if taken would have routed the train back toward Newcastle Central, but instead the train took the right hand route, which curves north towards Pegswood Viaduct over the River Wansbeck towards the village of Pegswood and then north along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) back to Edinburgh, and then the conclusion of this epic day trip back in Linlithgow where it had started in the wee hours on the morning!
The Northumberland Line a year on; and the need for the Northumberland Coast Loop is clear.
Almost a year on, the vast majority of the then incomplete stations that the railtour passed through are now open, only Bedlington is still awaited, but is due to open at the end of this month on Sunday the 29th March 2026.
The line has, despite delays in opening the route initially with only Ashington, and Seaton Delaval stations in December 2024, the other stations at Newsham, Blyth Bebside opening during 2025, and now Northumberland Park and Bedlington opening and the latter due to open in 2026.
Despite the delays, the line has been a HUGE success in terms of passenger numbers, with well over a million passengers now having used the line, and potential to reach two million by the end of 2026, with the line compete in just a few weeks once Bedlington is finally opened to the public.
While many people such as myself were very optimistic for the success of the line ahead of it being opened; I wouldn’t have even dreamt of the volume of passengers (over a million to date) using the line so early after opening, and especially when the scheme has been beset by delays and more delays.
No extra Northern trains until new units arrive in the 2030’s.
The busy line presenting itself as an issue for Northern, the Government run train operator (was taken back in-house from Arriva and has been run directly by the Department for Transport Operator since 1st March 2020, so six years today) which is the exclusive operator of passenger trains at present but has a shortage of Class 156 and Class 158 trains that are used on the line, meaning services are just two carriages rather than four, leading to trains being very crowded and complaints arising from people not being able to find a seat.
Northern is in the process of beginning procurement of new trains (which hopefully might be a minimum of four carriages in length as standard, avoiding having any two car trains at all), but there will be some years between ordering new trains and them being built, delivered, and entering service.
Diverting existing trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Bedlington
The solution this campaign is putting forward is to instead pull some of the wider range of rolling stock available that currently plies between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Cramlington and Morpeth to instead run a handful of services via the ‘loop’ between Pegswood and Manors via Bedlington.
This would mean that extra trains could serve the ‘core’ part of the Northumberland Line from Blyth, the largest town in Northumberland into Newcastle, bringing extra seats onto the line and easing the overcrowding of the existing services.
Some other branded trains, like TransPennine Express (TPE) are, like Northern, run by the DfT Operator (DfTO), effectively one ‘company’ with separate branding, much like British Rail had trains in different branding for different services being operated. LNER is another train operator that is directly run by the DfTO, it is just a coat of paint and different colour scheme within the train and on staff uniforms, but the same back office staff all three of these train services north of Newcastle, and as time goes on, more train operators are being brought into the DfTO.
This means that if decided by the DfTO, there shouldn’t be any great barrier to running some TPE, or LNER trains via Bedlington rather than Morpeth or Cramlington, if desired.
The lack of overhead wires isn’t a major issue, as many of those running on the ECML are bi-modes, able to run on both electric overhead power at 25kV AC, or use their fitted diesel engines when ‘off the wires’, as can be seen below from diverted LNER trains going along the Tyne Valley Line (Newcastle to Carlisle via Hexham) below.
In the longer term, this route is one that would benefit from electrification at 25kV AC so that 100% electric trains could be used on this route too, but for now bi-modes are practical proposition for a very quick way to get more trains running and boost the capacity of the Northumberland Line into Newcastle.
This route also offers a direct route northwards from towns like Blyth into North Northumberland and Scotland, using an existing line, which would cut journey times and the need to change trains by going via Newcastle, and could further boost the positive economic impact of the Northumberland Line for very little if any additional investment.
The line from Bedlington to Morpeth North Junction, where the freight only line joins the East Coast Main Line (ECML) has existed since 1980 (the opening of Morpeth North Curve, most of the route existed for over a century before that linking Morpeth station to Bedlington), yet today it only sees a handful of trains each week at most.
Using this arguably underused link to boost the capacity of the Northumberland Line, as well as bring new direct routes into play would be a massive economic opportunity for very little extra expenditure; the track and junctions are all there and used regularly if infrequently and the stations are complete and open, with Bedlington due to open in a matter of a few weeks.
Petition and put a call to Parliament
If you support this route being opened up, please sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/start-a-newcastle-edinburgh-rail-service-via-blyth-bebside-and-northumberland-park, which has already received 1,116 signatures to date, and if you live locally in the consituencies along the route, represented in Northumberland by:
David Smith MP (Berwick Upon Tweed, Chathill, Alnmouth, Acklington, Widdrington, and Pegswood stations)
Ian Lavery MP (Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, and Newsham stations)
Emma Foody MP (Seaton Delaval, and Northumberland Park stations)
Please write by post or by email to them, and ask for their support for the ‘Northumberland Coast Loop’, and explain why you feel it would be useful to you, the more support the proposal gets, the more likely it’ll be made a reality.
Please also reach out to your local Northumberland County Councillors to also raise this route with the council for its support.
Response to Cllr Hunter: The real safety solution to the A1 could be better use of the ECML in Northumberland for passengers and freight.
A recent article in the Northumberland Gazette states ‘Renewed calls for safety improvements on A1 in Northumberland after spate of serious crashes’ by local Councillor Isobel Hunter (Cllr Hunter) who represents Berwick West with Ord area in Berwick Upon Tweed, who has raised that the dualling scheme for the A1 between Morpeth and Berwick ‘should not be forgotten’.
To quote Cllr Hunter from the article, ‘The Government has said it will do minor improvements, but that won’t stop all of these crashes. We need to have the A1 dualled.‘
The dualling of 13 miles of the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham was officially cancelled quite some time ago, and was announced to be expected cost in the region of £500m, in my view, as as the case is outlined below, if safety is the main target, then transferring traffic to trains from the road is potentially the best way to deliver that outcome.
£500m being spent on the ECML between Newcastle and Edinburgh to carry out known capacity interventions could be truly transformative, and even if a sum of money in that order of magnitude was to be split between A1 safety interventions and rail capacity enhancements, it could result in great benefits for Northumberland as outlined below.
Tourism by train
Another aspect is the tourist volumes who visit North Northumberland, which puts added strain onto the A1 and importantly many of the rural roads connected to it, and the excessive volumes of cars are a separate but equally important issue for Northumberland, which is heading down the same route as the Lake District in terms of access by car bringing a huge set of issues with it.
If more tourism by rail can be encouraged, it is a clear win-win for Northumberland; tourists still visit, yet they are coming without their cars, meaning our towns and villages will be much less congested, but will still thrive from visitors coming and spending in the local economy.
If dualling is taken forward as ‘the solution’, then it puts further pressure onto rural and urban roads that cannot cope now, only exacerbating current problems with parking and traffic congestion.
If public transport is instead put at the heart of planning for the area, and rail is coordinated with buses for onward travel to places away from the railway stations and getting back again, then it can be a much more viable option.
For many establishments such as our many great pubs and bars, there is further advantages in public transport that visitors can enjoy locally brewed beers or other drinks without one in a couple of group having to be the ‘designated driver’, that responsibilty handed to the bus and train drivers, and itself a potential market for pub businesses on a circuit.
An example of this is the CAMRA ‘Whistle Stops’ guide for the nearby Tyne Valley Line, highlighting real ale pubs within easy reach of the stations on that line.
Drink and driving a car is a clear example of two things that are incompatible, and rightly shunned by society due to the devastating consequences of alcohol related road accidents.
Public transport is, however, an elegant solution to this, as punters going for pints or a Piña Coladas (other drinks are available) they can travel out to enjoy them, and importantly travel back safely for themselves and others. It would keep our fantastic venues open and thriving, whilst keeping people safe, again, a win-win surely?
Dualled roads are still deadly and dangerous
A harsh reality is that dualling alone does NOT guarantee a road becoming ‘safe’, and does not prevent serious and fatal accidents from occuring. A shocking example of this (5th December 2025) is recent tragic incident on the fully dualled A19 near Holystone in North Tyneside, caused by excessive speed, but illustrating clearly that road accidents and loss of life are sadly not prevented by dualling alone.
Every loss of life, or serious injury is a tragedy for the person involved, as well as for family and friends, and we as a society should surely always strive for the accident rate to be ZERO. Perhaps modal shift away from road transport could well be part of the toolkit to make that target a reality.
Whilst we need interventions to make roads like the A1 safer, moving more people and goods via the ECML would reduce traffic on the road, and therefore would reduce risk and road accidents.
HSE: Driving for work is dangerous.
Indeed, it is recognised by the Health and Safety Executive itself that ‘Driving for work is one of the most dangerous things workers will do.’. Showing that being on the road is a dangerous place to be.
The HSE website goes further on the following webpage, and suggests that modal shift to other modes of transport could eliminate or reduce driving risks, and the hazards faced such as driving/stopping in darkness (Northumberland being a county notable for long winter nights and very dark roads due to fewer streetlights).
If the HSE suggests modal shift for greater safety, perhaps we should give it a very serious consideration?
Smaller safety schemes are welcome, but put the big money into modal shift?
There has been a lot of criticism of the decision not to dual the A1 in Northumberland from Morpeth to Ellingham, but at a cost stated as £500m, and one that doesn’t deliver much in the way of economic growth, and is unlikely to totally stop the serious accidents causing life changing injuries and tragic deaths, could there be a better case to invest in the parallel East Coast Main Line (ECML) instead?
There is still a clear need to invest some money into the A1 to redesign and replace some current flat junctions with grade-separated ones and tackle some bad sections of road layout, and cost-effective solutions such as average speed cameras that have proven themselves on other routes by reducing fatalities and serious accidents should also be employed, but expanding the capacity of rail routes like the ECML to carry more passengers and freight both locally and long-distance would perhaps be the best investment for the bulk of the money.
Rail transport has a great safety record, and modal shift away from road transport would save lives.
One of the safest ways to travel in the UK is taking the train; in modern times, passenger train accidents are exceedingly rare events, and fatal ones even rarer; for example the last at Stonehaven in Scotland was in August 2020 when an HST hit a landslip, and before that was the February 2007 derailment at Grayrigg in Cumbria. That these accidents are noteworthy, yet they are 13½ years apart shows how safe the railway system is in the UK.
In Northumberland, you would need to go back as far as 1969 and the crash at Morpeth of ‘The Aberdonian’ sleeper train on 7th May that year, almost 57 years ago for the last fatal rail accident involving passengers (sadly a nearby accident in 1992 killed a train driver due to mis-communication).
Since 1969, the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Newcastle has carried many millions of passengers safely and swiftly, having had a very good safety record since this accident, and even when further accidents have re-occurred at Morpeth, improved train and carriage designs have meant that injuries were much less serious and no fatalities resulted from it.
The Northumberland Line has now also moved well over a million people safely, and allows people to avoid the A189 Spine Road which itself has a poor reputation for accidents, many of which have also tragically been fatal or serious with life changing consequences, but is largely dualled and has grade-separated junctions mostly (aside from roundabouts such as Moor Farm).
New routes for rail to make modal shift easier.
Creating new rail routes such as the Northumberland Coast Loop (Newcastle to Edinburgh via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park would go even further to help make rail a viable option for more journeys; making them faster by being more direct, and with fewer changes to make them easier and more convenient for potential passengers too.
This is a passenger route that would be likely to carry many thousands, if hundreds of thousands of people each year if implemented, reducing car trips and improving road safety as a result.
Whilst no mode of transport will ever be 100% ‘safe’ and it would be a Titanic mistake to claim so (the so-called ‘unsinkable’ ship now on the bottom of the Atlantic sprung to mind), the evidence shows that railways are a fundamentally much safer way to transport people and goods; professional staff who are highly trained, working in a very tightly controlled failsafe system of systems means that accidents are incredibly rare and even when they do happen, modern rail vehicles are also extremely well designed to protect their occupants.
Rail won’t replace all road journeys, but more people and goods moving by train the better.
Rail cannot replace every car or lorry trip, but a significant modal shift from busy roads like the A1, A19, and the A189 would have clear safety benefits by reducing overall traffic volumes, and enabling travel on a much safer mode of transport, meaning a real reduction in injuries and fatalities on the road network.
Hopefully Cllr Hunter and others will help to push for railways and public transport more broadly to be part of reducing road fatalities and injuries in Northumberland, with the additional benefits of supporting businesses such as pubs, reducing road congestion and parking problems in our picturesque paradise that is Northumberland?
Northumberland Park station on opening day and future northward connections?
Today, Sunday 22nd February 2026 marked the opening of the long awaited Northumberland Park station, heavily delayed but here at last!
To visit the station on opening day to take a look, especially considering its potential importance to the Northumberland Coast Loop, I took a train from my local station at Alnmouth to Northumberland Park via Newcastle.
Northumberland Park would be a potential semi-fast service stop, meaning that trains serving this station may skip some other stops and roll straight through; this reason why would be done is that some fast long-distance trains are not designed to do stop-start ‘all stations’ duties, and instead would be better driven for several miles even at relatively low speeds to avoid mechanical issues developing, but the route would allow places to be directly served, cutting overall journey times and avoiding the present awkward ‘back-track’ currently occuring when going via Newcastle.
You wouldn’t take the bus to Haymarket to go from Alnwick to Blyth, or drive via the Tyne Bridge, so why expect it with rail services when a potential route exists?
Petition progressing positively!
A quick petition update before recounting todays travels is that the Northumberland Coast Loop petition for a Newcastle to Edinburgh rail service via Northumberland Park and Blyth Bebside now stands at 1102 signatures as of today (22/02/26). Please sign the petition if you’d like to see this new rail route, using the existing route from Bedlington to Pegswood via Hepscott become a reality. Please visit the link here: https://www.change.org/p/start-a-newcastle-edinburgh-rail-service-via-blyth-bebside-and-northumberland-park
The more who sign, the more support is demonstrated, and builds the political will to make it happen.
The route has wide potential benefits;
- It would create new, direct rail routes between most of the settlements on the Northumberland Line like North Tyneside, Blyth, Bedlington and more to North Northumberland and Scotland. This would at Northumberland Park create a more direct route into sites such as Cobalt Business Park, or links to the Port of Tyne for ferries to Europe and cruises using the Port of Tyne to visit attractions in North East England.
- Adding dditional trains, alongside the Northumberland Line units, would provide additional and much needed seating capacity between Blyth and Newcastle, where presently the Northern units are struggling to cope at peak times, and would avoid those travelling to/from North Northumberland or Scotland to occupy seats headed towards Newcastle entirely, releasing that capacity for other rail users.
- Regular use by planned passenger trains would mean that a wider pool of units and drivers would be route cleared in the event the route was needed for diversions (for example if further issues were to arise with Plessey Viaduct as happened in October 2023 when diversions via Blyth were discussed as a possibility.
If you can, please write to your local Councillor(s), and your Member of Parliament (MP) to express your support for the ‘Northumberland Coast Loop’.
The trip to Northumberland Park
Tickets were purchased well in advance online due to the advantages of lower fares on the ECML if booked early.
Embarking from Alnmouth
A canny day for it, and TPE 802210 was the traction for the first leg!
Changing at The Toon
As can be seen above, the planned outward travel time from Alnmouth to Northumberland Park (T&W) of 88 minutes meant a significant wait at Newcastle Central for the connection, a strong argument in favour of the more direct route via Pegswood and Bedlington which eliminates the need to change trains at all, and would make this trip significantly faster.
An estimate of a direct journey time from Alnmouth to Northumberland Park via Bedlington would be in region of 45 minutes (13 mins from Alnmouth to Pegswood, c. 15 mins from Pegswood to Bedlington, then 18 mins Bedlington to Northumberland Park (T&W))
For the observant, this very close to the return journey time expected from Northumberland Park back to Alnmouth, but as events today unfolded, it illustrated the problems with reliance on changing at Newcastle.
The first train, the TPE from Alnmouth to Newcastle ran to time, and all was so far well with the day trip, but the second leg from Newcastle Central to Northumberland Park was less smooth today, with a faulty Northumberland Line train from MetroCentre (2T13, made up of 158817 and 156489) getting more and more delayed, as can be seen below.
In the end, only 156489 went on to Ashington, after some shunting around in Platform 1 at Central station to take the defective 158817 off the service.
Arrival at Northumberland Park
Looking around the new station
The station is, like all the others on the Northumberland Line a neat and functional station, not unpleasant in any way but a basic and hopefully hard-wearing design, especially given the likely bustle that this single platform will experience as an interchange between the ‘mainline’ trains and the Tyne and Wear Metro system.
There has been some recent debates about the numbering of this new platform, which currently is number 1; whilst it is effectively parallel to the Metro, the high level of integration between the two systems in terms of the Pop card system, and here the physical closeness of the stations has meant that some have suggested that to avoid confusion (as there are two ‘Platform 1’ platforms in close proximity); that the new platform should have taken number 3 rather than 1, but that is a seperate issue.
A good foundation for building a bigger station?
All in all, this station will suit perfectly the intended design of four car trains calling at a suitable platform, and it is well placed to interconnect to the T&W Metro system serving the North Tyneside area, as well as local buses and much more.
There is, however, also a lot of apparent scope in my my view to make this station ideally placed for long-distance services; with ample room headed west under the A186 towards the A19 to extend the platforms for longer trains to call here, an extra 200m+ should be comfortably available before reaching the tight A19 bridge taking the road over the line.
As a temporary solution, systems like Selective Door Opening (SDO) could be employed to safely use the shorter length platform that is currently available.
Return to Toon
The unfortunately still late running 156489 returned for the trip back to Newcastle, and was VERY well loaded on the way into Newcastle, I elected to stand rather than even try looking for a seat, again showing the potential for the Northumberland Coast Loop as a solution to cope with more riders than available seats.
The late-running of third leg of the trip meant that my planned connection onto the 13:02 TPE service back to Alnmouth was missed by a good margin, passing me near Benton on the way into Newcastle aboard the Sprinter.
In the end, the fourth leg of the trip was completed aboard 1S39, the itself late-running CrossCountry service from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh, which arrived at Newcastle around 13:55, nearly a full hour after my planned trains.
I would like to give a special shout-out to the station staff at Newcastle, particularly the lady who spoke to me for a while on Platform 2 to check my tickets and reassured me they’d be valid for travel aboard the CrossCountry train, before having a lovely natter during a quieter spell – splendid customer service and a lovely chat!
In quick summary, it is great to see the Northumberland Line drawing closer to completion, now with only Bedlington station left to go (the closest to my childhood home), which itself opens on Sunday 29th March 2026, and again is very likely to be another venture out by rail to visit.
Whilst the Ashington to Newcastle/MetroCentre on Sunday service is proving massively popular (almost TOO popular!), I strongly feel that the next logical step is to introduce a long distance service that better links this newly reopened passenger line more broadly, and whilst doing so adding capacity and resilience to the network.
With a generally quieter Sunday on the railway and a less intense timetable, perhaps the Northumberland Coast Loop route could be a Sunday service to start with and develop from there? There are more potential paths available, and leisure travel on a Sunday is a potentially strong market, can our railway people make it happen?
As ever, please sign the petition if you agree with the proposal, and please share with friends and family too! The link is here for the petition: https://www.change.org/p/start-a-newcastle-edinburgh-rail-service-via-blyth-bebside-and-northumberland-park
Toodle pip! RH.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 