Northumberland Line reopening: progress updates

[androdas]

One of the first big tests of the Northumberland Line, a Newcastle United home night match and Northern have provided extra capacity with a 156 on the back of the usual 158 on 2T65, the last train of the night North so well done for that! The train is well loaded too probably so hopefully a thats lot of people who would have driven to the match seeing a great example of the benefit this project can bring.

 

[Llandudno]

One of the first big tests of the Northumberland Line, a Newcastle United home night match and Northern have provided extra capacity with a 156 on the back of the usual 158 on 2T65, the last train of the night North so well done for that! The train is well loaded too probably so hopefully a thats lot of people who would have driven to the match seeing a great example of the benefit this project can bring.

Good to see extra capacity added to the last train.

However, the last train from Newcastle to Ashington departs at the ridiculously early time of 2216. If tonight’s match which kicked off at 1945 had gone to a penalty shootout then fans would have missed the last train home!

Numerous night matches kick off at 2000 in the Premier League owing to TV requirements, so when Newcastle get allocated one of these then then the train would be of no use at all!

Perhaps later in the year when all the intermediate stations open a later last train may be provided?

 

[xotGD]

Or a late night footex on match days?

 

[Class 170101]

An older viewing of the line June 2013 (not mine) but shows the difference between then and now its reopened.

Good to see extra capacity added to the last train.

However, the last train from Newcastle to Ashington departs at the ridiculously early time of 2216. If tonight’s match which kicked off at 1945 had gone to a penalty shootout then fans would have missed the last train home!

You would hope Northern would delay the train and take the hit on delay minutes, if not I dread to think of the taxi bill or even if they can find enough taxis to deal with the fans in the first place.

Numerous night matches kick off at 2000 in the Premier League owing to TV requirements, so when Newcastle get allocated one of these then then the train would be of no use at all!

Or even 20:15 these days.

Perhaps later in the year when all the intermediate stations open a later last train may be provided?

22:16 ex Newcastle seems somewhat early for a last train, I would be thinking somewhere in the 22:30 to 23:00 window.

 

[Darandio]

if not I dread to think of the taxi bill or even if they can find enough taxis to deal with the fans in the first place.

Why would Northern be finding taxis or footing a taxi bill because a football match had gone to a penalty shootout?

 

[yorkie]

Just a gentle reminder this thread is for infrastructure/stations updates.

The following threads may also be of interest:

Fares advice/discussion:

Northumberland Line fares (including impact on Tyne & Wear Metro maximum fares)

Someone might know but does anyone know if the North East Transport tickets are valid? They're currently usable on the trains between Sunderland and Blaydon so would seem a bit of an own goal to exclude them since they'd allow interchange with buses to the stations.

www.railforums.co.uk

Trip-related discussion:

Northumberland Line: trip planning & reports

Just being nosy .. how many folk here are planning on going on the first train, or at least travelling on the first day ?

www.railforums.co.uk

Speculative discussions:

Newbiggin railway station

Plans to extend the Northumberland Line to Newbiggin confirmed to be under consideration Leading figures on both sides of the political divide have outlined their hopes of extending the Northumberland Line past Ashington. The £300 million railway is set to open to passengers for the first...

www.railforums.co.uk

Your suggestions for the reopening of the Northumberland Line via Bedlington

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/northumberland-line-to-be-re-opened-to-passengers.204414/ I know it’s far too early to start talking about rolling stock for the route, but could this be ideal for utilising some of Northern’s 769 fleet? More so if the services...

www.railforums.co.uk

Northumberland Line : potential expansion and timetable improvements?

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/northumberland-line-to-be-re-opened-to-passengers.204414/page-44#post-7085444 Could an option not be to swap the clock hours around so you'd have xx:46 trains in an evening rather than xx:16 with the last 2300 train from Ashington...

www.railforums.co.uk

Historical discussion:

Seghill Railway and Cramlington Waggonway

Many years ago, I remember reading about the Seghill Railway and of the history of the Cramlington Waggonway and at the time I made a note about the location of Prospect Hill railway station, saying it was opened on 28th August 1841 and was not closed until 27th June 1864. It appears there had...

www.railforums.co.uk

Want to discuss anything else (such as whether or not taxis could be ordered for football fans!), please do create a new thread, if there isn't one already!

Thanks in advance

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Good to see extra capacity added to the last train.

However, the last train from Newcastle to Ashington departs at the ridiculously early time of 2216. If tonight’s match which kicked off at 1945 had gone to a penalty shootout then fans would have missed the last train home!

Numerous night matches kick off at 2000 in the Premier League owing to TV requirements, so when Newcastle get allocated one of these then then the train would be of no use at all!

Perhaps later in the year when all the intermediate stations open a later last train may be provided?

There is only a LNER and a LUMO going North after the last Ashington train. It arrives at Ashington at 2255 and possessions are taken not long after that, so not much room to play with.

It would be tight for a 2000 kick off but Central Station is only a 15 minute walk from St James'.

 

[androdas]

There is only a LNER and a LUMO going North after the last Ashington train. It arrives at Ashington at 2255 and possessions are taken not long after that, so not much room to play with.

It would be tight for a 2000 kick off but Central Station is only a 15 minute walk from St James'.

I think until all the stations are complete this may well be the reason for the 2216 last train and the reason why if you travel on the line not much seems to be happening at Northumberland Park, Bebside and Bedlington in terms of workers busying away. Now the line is open a lot of the station construction is having to be done in nightly engineering possessions. It was slightly easier when it was just the biomass and alumina trains to contend with and short possessions for moving equiptment etc could have been taken during the day.

 

[dave1]

It is disappointing to find cancelled trains in first week

 

[androdas]

Quite a bit of late running too hopefully just teething problems but the timetable is very tight and the single sections and single lead junction at Benton are not helping. On a kind of related point the 'Service Status' or disruptions section of the Northern website does not show anything about the Northumberland Line so you cant track cancellations.

 

[dave1]

Quite a bit of late running too hopefully just teething problems but the timetable is very tight and the single sections and single lead junction at Benton are not helping. On a kind of related point the 'Service Status' or disruptions section of the Northern website does not show anything about the Northumberland Line so you cant track cancellations.

If you enter national rail ashington rail departures on internet you will see what trains are cancelled and if they are running late

 

[Acfb]

I think until all the stations are complete this may well be the reason for the 2216 last train and the reason why if you travel on the line not much seems to be happening at Northumberland Park, Bebside and Bedlington in terms of workers busying away. Now the line is open a lot of the station construction is having to be done in nightly engineering possessions. It was slightly easier when it was just the biomass and alumina trains to contend with and short possessions for moving equiptment etc could have been taken during the day.

Apparently high voltage cables had to moved at Bedlington which is another reason why construction on the platforms hasn't really started there. Riku Fryderyck has done a very good video on the unopened stations.

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Quite a bit of late running too hopefully just teething problems but the timetable is very tight and the single sections and single lead junction at Benton are not helping. On a kind of related point the 'Service Status' or disruptions section of the Northern website does not show anything about the Northumberland Line so you cant track cancellations.

A couple of trains have been cancelled due to a AWS fault on the unit.

I agree that the timetable is quite fragile. Hopefully, the half hour service allows it gets it back in order quickly.

 

[androdas]

The last train to Ashington has now been cancelled two nights in a row in the first week including the Friday before Christmas which is arguably Newcastle's busiest night in terms of leisure traffic. I know there absolutely will be valid reasons behind this that everyone on this forum will understand but it is not a good look for a service that has been built up significatly. First impresssions do last unfortunately and I want this line to be a success it has been a long time coming but this is with 4 more stations yet to open and it already seems to struggle to keep up. Maybe the half hourly service just isnt feasable at the minute with the infrastructure and staffing that Northern have available.

Edit - The last train tonight is no longer showing as cancelled and has a 4 car class 158 allocated so maybe I was too quick to criticise

 

[Class 170101]

Why would Northern be finding taxis or footing a taxi bill because a football match had gone to a penalty shootout?

First impressions and wanting to grow the market / use of the line. The way NOT to do that is to p*** off your customers in the first few days / weeks of services. As @androdas points out above first impressions do stick around, the good and the bad.

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

The last train to Ashington has now been cancelled two nights in a row in the first week including the Friday before Christmas which is arguably Newcastle's busiest night in terms of leisure traffic. I know there absolutely will be valid reasons behind this that everyone on this forum will understand but it is not a good look for a service that has been built up significatly. First impresssions do last unfortunately and I want this line to be a success it has been a long time coming but this is with 4 more stations yet to open and it already seems to struggle to keep up. Maybe the half hourly service just isnt feasable at the minute with the infrastructure and staffing that Northern have available.

Edit - The last train tonight is no longer showing as cancelled and has a 4 car class 158 allocated so maybe I was too quick to criticise

The last train to Ashington on the last Friday before Christmas. Not for the faint of heart, I expect.

 

[androdas]

The last train to Ashington on the last Friday before Christmas. Not for the faint of heart, I expect.

I would imagine not and probably when I was younger I would have been right in the thick of it as I was numerous times on the last bus to Ashington in various states.

For it's good and bad points it is a demographic that the line should be capturing as much as I would not fancy being the Guard on 2T65 from Newcastle tonight!

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

It looks like they were running 4 car units today on the Northumberland Line.

Hopefully, this continues on a Sunday into the New Year and is an indicator of demand.

 

[03_179]

Just in case anyone knows - Has there been any further update on when the other stations are being opened ?

 

[Acfb]

Just in case anyone knows - Has there been any further update on when the other stations are being opened ?

I believe Newsham will probably open at the end of February with Blyth Bebside opening soon after. Bedlington station is extremely delayed because it is on a curve and high voltage cables had to be moved before platform construction could start so that and Northumberland Park probably won't open until the 2nd half of the year. This is what Jim Ellis implied in Riku Fryderck's video  The next four Stations in Northumberland anyway.

 

[03_179]

Thanks.
I maybe heading up on Feb 8th so I'll miss those new ones

 

[William3000]

Just because a line is subsidised, it doesn't *necessarily* mean it has a nett cost to the taxpayer; the subsidy may be more than offset by the wider economic benefits. A cheap and reliable service from a deprived area to a nearby centre of employment may result in less people on benefits and more tax revenue, and also make that deprived area a more popular place to live which will generate demand for new housing and businesses there. Unfortunately, none of this will show up in the rail budget, which sees only the cost of the subsidy.

I'm not saying whether this will or won't happen in this particular case.

Exactly - nobody would say that motorways require subsidy - they do. And obvious aid the economy but there is a cost to them. Same with railways.

 

[Bald Rick]

Exactly - nobody would say that motorways require subsidy - they do

Do they?

 

[The exile]

Yeah, okay. I can see the logic.

It works for “terminal bay to terminal bay” but not for “through platform to through platform” where the length of the train is less likely to affect the distance travelled.

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Just in case anyone knows - Has there been any further update on when the other stations are being opened ?

Some leaflets from the council have went out in the local area.

Newsham is due to open end of February / start of March with Blyth Bebside stated for June.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

It works for “terminal bay to terminal bay” but not for “through platform to through platform” where the length of the train is less likely to affect the distance travelled.

Depends, while a 4 car on two 4 car through platforms might be pretty static, a 2 car on those platforms can have a lot of variation.

I just take my mileage figures from railmiles and say "about" because I don't know the exact points the values represent so can't account for the few chains that may be gained/lost due to stopping position

 

[londonbridge]

I’m up in the North East tomorrow for the Sunderland-Stoke game, was planning a ride on the line first thing but Ashington Community Woodland parkrun is cancelled due to the weather, not sure where (or even if) I’ll be parkrunning depending on whether any in the region are still on.

 

[Stopper]

Newsham box is going in a few weeks

 

[swt_passenger]

Newsham box is going in a few weeks

There’s a news item on the website, main demolition is overnight on the first weekend of February:

The main works to remove the signal box anticipated to take place on Saturday 1 February 2025 and Sunday 2 February from 7pm to 7 am each night. Outside of the demolition window work will take place between 7am and 5pm.

There will be activity on site from 7am on Wednesday 29 January 2025, to 5pm on Tuesday 4 February 2025, as the teams set up prior to the works and remove the material after. Outside of the demolition window work will take place between 7am and 5pm.

Signal Box Demolition at Newsham

Network Rail has assessed the structures and equipment along the Northumberland Line to see which requires removing and/ or upgrading, and which can be safely decommissioned and left in place.This has determined that the signal box located at Newsham Level Crossing needs to be removed. The level...

www.northumberlandline.uk

 

[androdas]

It was in a pretty bad way structurally even before the station was built, you can just about see on this google street view the internal scaffolding holding it up https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gms4KFGa4wMjN2Wk9 and its clear on the video about the resignalling here: https://vimeo.com/998624642 (Video tour of the signal boxes just prior to decomission) at about the 3:30 mark how structurally unsound it is.