Northumberland Line reopening: progress updates

[androdas]

I did notice when I went through on the train yesterday how much Bedlington has progressed over easter from a hole in the ground to something resembling a station. Obviously a long way to go but that is all the platform edges now in place on the line so that is a good milestone. Hopefully not long to wait now for Bebside.

 

[swt_passenger]

I did notice when I went through on the train yesterday how much Bedlington has progressed over easter from a hole in the ground to something resembling a station. Obviously a long way to go but that is all the platform edges now in place on the line so that is a good milestone. Hopefully not long to wait now for Bebside.

I was trying to work out roughly how much of the down platform units were in place, and so I think, (without looking up the planning drawings), it’s possibly only about 50%? The down platform is staggered compared to the up, ie it’s positioned more towards the level crossing. So they’ll need another closure for getting it to full length.

 

[Killingworth]

It's great to see the reopening of the line to passenger services doing well. It's just a shame it's taken so many years for it happen! Well done to the tireless campaigners over the years to make this service come to fruition.

The reality is that it is more a new passenger opening than a reopening as there was never anything like the frequent service we have today. It's a new line in a new environment making use of old freight tracks and infrastructure. That needs to be remembered by those citing the current success as a precedent for elsewhere.

The passenger service 60+ years ago ran to Manors or Monkseaton and was far less frequent than today (a few trains to Blyth, Newbiggin and Morpeth). This undated map shows the web of connecting bus routes. I have a United bus timetable with map from about 1950 showing the interchanges then being advertised - parcels were a major part of both bus and train operations. Miners and their families went shorter distances than today's residents. When they went into Newcastle it would most likely be by bus.

What this map doesn't show is the huge number of inter-connected collieries in the Northumberland and Durham coalfield, over 300 of them at the time of nationalisation. Today's Northumberland line exists in a totally different world utilising a very small proportion of the total track mileage that was still being used only 60 years ago. The ancient mineral wagonways leading down to the Tyne go back well before 1825.

 

[edwin_m]

The passenger service 60+ years ago ran to Manors or Monkseaton and was far less frequent than today (a few trains to Blyth, Newbiggin and Morpeth). This undated map shows the web of connecting bus routes. I have a United bus timetable with map from about 1950 showing the interchanges then being advertised - parcels were a major part of both bus and train operations. Miners and their families went shorter distances than today's residents. When they went into Newcastle it would most likely be by bus.

Yes, often forgotten how poor the service was on many of the lines closed in the Beeching era, whereas buses could get much closer to people's homes and often destinations, and there weren't enough other vehicles to slow them down much. Commuting was a thing from the genteel suburbs served by the electrification, but the likes of the Blyth area weren't the sort of places people would travel from to work.

Like re-openings of the Robin Hood Line, in South Wales and elsewhere, they are a result of the economy becoming much more service-based with jobs moving from local pits and factories into city centres. Re-using the rail infrastructure that mostly carried freight to and from those facilities to take people to where the jobs are is a small part of regenerating those left behind communities (though by no means enough). And we have done very little to get people to the other sorts of jobs, in out-of-town premises that are hard to reach without a car.

 

[Snex]

Yes, often forgotten how poor the service was on many of the lines closed in the Beeching era, whereas buses could get much closer to people's homes and often destinations, and there weren't enough other vehicles to slow them down much. Commuting was a thing from the genteel suburbs served by the electrification, but the likes of the Blyth area weren't the sort of places people would travel from to work.

Like re-openings of the Robin Hood Line, in South Wales and elsewhere, they are a result of the economy becoming much more service-based with jobs moving from local pits and factories into city centres. Re-using the rail infrastructure that mostly carried freight to and from those facilities to take people to where the jobs are is a small part of regenerating those left behind communities (though by no means enough). And we have done very little to get people to the other sorts of jobs, in out-of-town premises that are hard to reach without a car.

In fairness, I'd say the bigger problem for the line back then was most the stations were in the middle of nowhere. Bebside, Newsham and Seaton Delaval were pretty isolated back in the day and like you said with the pits etc there was never that much demand to go to Newcastle anyway, excluding Ashington the line missed the main local town centres without a change.

There's been massive developments in SE Northumberland since Beeching, Cramlington pretty much didn't exist at all.

https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/index.php?view=55.04305,-1.54601&zoom=12&layer=oneinch61 - Good site to see what the area (or anywhere) was like pre Beeching pretty much.

 

[Killingworth]

In fairness, I'd say the bigger problem for the line back then was most the stations were in the middle of nowhere. Bebside, Newsham and Seaton Delaval were pretty isolated back in the day and like you said with the pits etc there was never that much demand to go to Newcastle anyway, excluding Ashington the line missed the main local town centres without a change.

There's been massive developments in SE Northumberland since Beeching, Cramlington pretty much didn't exist at all.

https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps/index.php?view=55.04305,-1.54601&zoom=12&layer=oneinch61 - Good site to see what the area (or anywhere) was like pre Beeching pretty much.

Following the sequence of old maps reminds me how much it has changed in my lifetime. There were very many pits and rows of terraced pit houses close together, mostly all now gone. New houses have gardens and council houses are being swamped by new private housing.

Cramlington existed as an old village, sometimes known as East Cramlington, and dating back to at least 1135. I have 18th century ancestors from there.

Cramlington and Killingworth New Towns were 1960s creations to provide jobs for former miners - including a famous perfume factory! I well recall a factory tour of Wilkinson Sword's new razor blade factory in 1966.

 

[swt_passenger]

There are now three more weekend closures announced for further work on Bedlington platforms, they have now decided that trains will run normally as far as Newsham.

The dates will be:
Fri 6th June to Mon 9th June (inclusive),
Sat 21st June, Sun 22nd June,
Sat 28th June & Sun 29th June

Details on the website here:

Following on from the line closure over the Easter weekend, we have a further 3 weekends in June when the Northumberland Line rail service will be disrupted so that platform construction works can take place at Bedlington.

We appreciate that closing part of the line isn’t ideal, but by having the line closed through Bedlington does allow our construction teams to make significant progress on building the new platforms for the station. A lot of the platform construction works have to be done at a time when no trains are running due to their proximity to the railway line and that means the works either have to take place overnight or during line closures.

This time though, the line won’t be fully closed, as Northern will be running an hourly service between Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Newcastle (most trains also call at Manors with the exception of Sundays).

A bus replacement service will run between Ashington and Newsham to connect with trains to/from Newcastle.

Weekend Engineering Works - June 2025

Following on from the line closure over the Easter weekend, we have a further 3 weekends in June when the Northumberland Line rail service will be disrupted so that platform construction works can take place at Bedlington. We appreciate that closing part of the line isn’t ideal, but by having...

www.northumberlandline.uk

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

There are now three more weekend closures announced for further work on Bedlington platforms, they have now decided that trains will run normally as far as Newsham.

The dates will be:
Fri 6th June to Mon 9th June (inclusive),
Sat 21st June, Sun 22nd June,
Sat 28th June & Sun 29th June

Details on the website here:

Weekend Engineering Works - June 2025

Following on from the line closure over the Easter weekend, we have a further 3 weekends in June when the Northumberland Line rail service will be disrupted so that platform construction works can take place at Bedlington. We appreciate that closing part of the line isn’t ideal, but by having...

www.northumberlandline.uk

Hopefully, they will double up the units on the hourly service on those weekends.

 

[ddavids]

Is they any more updates when Bebside will open

 

[androdas]

Is they any more updates when Bebside will open

Apart from social media, and the chronicle/gazette etc. the most likely place you will find out an official date is here: https://www.northumberlandline.uk/ . Going off what happened at Ashington / Newsham that will be a couple of weeks before opening. From passing on a train this week I would say Bebside still has a good couple of months to go yet.

 

[nerdowell]

Bedlington Station Construction Update ahead of the line closures in June

Bedlington Station Construction Update

Work is progressing on the station construction at Bedlington and there will be 3 weekend closures in June so that more work close to the railway line can occur safely as no trains will be running.Find out more about the works in our video:Bedlington Station UpdateWe know that closing the line...

www.northumberlandline.uk