The Northumberland Line
A much needed new line for Northumberland!
The Northumberland Line is currently under construction and will connect towns in South-East Northumberland with Newcastle City Centre and on to the wider rail network! This will bring a much needed boost to everyone in the region! Journeys from Ashington to Newcastle will take about 35 minutes which is considerably less time than the bus. That said the buses in the area will play an important part into the future success of the Northumberland line.
Back in 1872 a line was opened running from Newcastle all the way to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea via Ashington and Bedlington. The line would see both passenger and freight services for over 90 years before the Beeching Axe swung down on to the line in 1963. All the stations on the line closed and passenger services withdrawn. All that remained was freight running to and from Lynemouth Power Station!
It wasn't until 2010 when Northumberland County Council started to show an interest in the reopening of the line! The initial studies explored the possibility of the terminus at Woodhorn, as we all know now. Sadly it appears to of never been planned to extend the line all the way through to Newbiggin which to me seems slightly bonkers!
Between January 2021 & January 2022 planning applications for the construction of the new stations. Construction work for the new stations began in Spring 2022. Each station is at various stages, with talks not all stations might open at the same time!
THE NEW STATIONS!
Images of Ashington station under construction
Ashington - Planned opening Summer 2024
Ashington is a town with a population of over 28,000, the opening of the station will enable all of these to reach Newcastle city centre with in 35 minutes which is half the time it currently takes on the bus. It is also the same time it takes to drive, but that is subject to no traffic!
Ashington is going to be the terminus station on the line. The new station is been built just to the south of the original station. The new platform allows direct access from the car park to the station. There will also be access to the Wansbeck Square via a path behind the former platform with a lift connecting the square and the platform.
The station platform will include a waiting shelter and benches. There will also be cycle racks at the station too. The car park that is currently in the location is to be extended to accommodate the expected extra vehicles that will use the station. The Car Park is going to include Blue Badge spaces and EV charge points. The station surrounding will include wildlife friendly landscaping.
The station at Ashington is been designed in such a way it can easily be adapted for when/if the line gets extended in the future to Woodhorn and Newbiggin.
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Bedlington
Bedlington station will provide the 16,000+ residents of Bedlington with fast direct services into Newcastle and beyond on to the rail network. Bedlington station will have two platforms. These will be connected via the level crossing rather than a footbridge. Residents to the west of the station will need to make sure they allow time for the barriers coming down or else they risk missing their train. The original station platform will not be used, but instead a new platform will be built immediately north. The lines project team are still working with Network Rail to work out what the future of old station building is. Hopefully this building can be saved, restored and used by local businesses. Maybe a station café!
There will be more car parking built adjoining the station to the north to meet the expected demand. This will include Blue Badge Spaces and EV spaces. There will be boundary fences to protect the station, there will also be wildlife friendly landscaping.
As part of the new station build the level crossings at either end of the station have both been upgraded to allow signalling upgrades to allow frequent passenger services.
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Blyth Bebside
Blyth Bebside station will be located on the outskirts of the coastal town of Blyth. The town has a population of just under 40,000 residents who will be able to make use of this station, but also the next station down the line, depending where they live in the town.
Blyth Bebside station is not going to be the easiest to reach on foot from the town centre. Thankfully there are frequent buses from the town to within 5 minutes walk of the station. Residents on the local housing estates will benefit from new footpaths giving them quick access to the station. One of these will be in the form of a new footbridge over the A189.
This station will have two platforms with a footbridge (with lifts) connecting the two platforms. There will be a brand new built car park to accommodate passengers driving to the station.
Sadly I have no photos of the works here due to the lack of access to get photos. If you have any I can use please email me at every.last.station@gmail.com
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Newsham - Planned opening Summer 2024
Newsham station is probably the station that is going to require the most work... A new track layout, closure of a level crossing, installation of a accessible footbridge, and the construction of a new road over the railway.
Newsham station will be a double platform station with an accessible footbridge connecting them. There will also be car parks on both sides of the station with blue badge spaces and EV charge points.
The road layout will be changed. The current A1061 will be diverted over the railway just to the south of the new station. The current level crossing will be closed. The road currently leading to the level crossing will be retained and used as access to the car parks. Alongside the new road layout there will be shared footways and cycleways constructed.
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Seaton Delaval - Planned opening Summer 2024
With a population of around 8,000 the residents of Seaton Delaval are about to get a new station that will connect them directly with Newcastle City Centre.
The station that is getting built is a single platform station that will have a waiting shelter and a couple of benches. To be honest when it's a single platform station that is all it really needs.
There is going to be a generous sized car park, which if you look through the planning application you will see there have been objections to its size, and to be honest, I'd be inclined to agree. It does seem rather on the large size. Especially considering it is only a 10 minute drive to Cramlington. Most people to the west of Seaton Delaval will surely drive to Cramlington.
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Northumberland Park
Northumberland Park will be a separate station to the current Tyne & Wear metro. But it will allow for interchanges between national rail and Tyne & Wear Metro.
The national rail station will be a single platform station with passenger access from Algernon Road. There will be a lift that will connect road level with platform level. The platform will have a couple of benches and a shelter.
There will be no car park built for this station as it is believed the multi story car park attached to the Metro Station will be adequate.
Check out the planning application here. The station plans are particularly interesting viewing.
Any future expansions likely?
In short, no... Well not planned or announced anyway. The only hint that anything could be planned for the future is that Ashington station has been built in a way that would allow for the line to continue on to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
In my opinion the reopening of the Northumberland Line gives great opportunities for future rail improvements in the area. The first of these would be to extend the line to Newbinnin-by-the-Sea. To be quite honest I can't understand why this wasn't in the plan at the start. It's would of required 3 extra miles of track. Two miles of this is already in place as part of the freight line to the power station! There is a clear run into Newbiggin-by-the-Sea along the former route to within 10 minutes walk of the seafront. The Northumberland line running all the way to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea could really turn the town into a tourist hotspot!
Another way of making the most of the line would be by making use of the junction at Bedlington and having services that run from Newcastle to Morpeth via Bedlington. This would be reasonably easy to achieve (Subject to capacity limitations). There is currently an hourly service between Carlisle and Morpeth which runs via Newcastle. This could run via Bedlington and back down the East Coast Main Line from Morpeth. Alternate this clockwise and anti clockwise giving passengers from Northumberland Park to Bedlington an 2 hourly service to & from Morpeth, not to mention an alternative way of connecting with services on the East Coast Main Line to Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and on to Scotland.
There is also the option of doing a circular route via Ashington and rebuilding the line that used to branch off at a junction just north of Ashington. This would require quite a bit more work, but would benefit the people of Pegswood as it would potentially allow a regular passenger service there instead of just the 3 trains a day it currently gets.
The two above suggestions in my opinion are ways to give the line the best possible out come. Not everyone in the area will want to just go to Newcastle. Morpeth is a respectable sized town and should not be ignored with the development of the Northumberland Line.
Even with out the above thoughts there is lots to be excited about when it comes to the railways in the North East. Communities getting connected to the national rail network for the first time since the 60s.
What we really need to happen now is for the Tyne & Wear Metro to become part of the national rail network! But that's a whole separate blog for a later date!
For now though, Thanks for reading!!!
Stuart
