Northumberland Line reopening: progress updates

[dave1]

Good news hope Bedlington follows shortly

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

Northumberland Park to open on Feb 22nd, and no confirmed date for Bedlington but the local MP has posted on social media 'March'. Reported on Northumberland County Council facebook and on the BBC here:

Northumberland Park station opening date confirmed

The overdue station on the Northumberland Line will open on 22 February, it is confirmed.

www.bbc.com

Great to see and a good interchange to get the Metro to the coast at Cullercoats, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.

The usual noises about more capacity with this announcement.

 

[317 forever]

Northumberland Park to open on Feb 22nd, and no confirmed date for Bedlington but the local MP has posted on social media 'March'. Reported on Northumberland County Council facebook and on the BBC here:

Northumberland Park station opening date confirmed

The overdue station on the Northumberland Line will open on 22 February, it is confirmed.

www.bbc.com

I've lost track of which stations have yet to open. Will Bedlington be the final one to open?

I shall be in the area in July and hope they are all open by then.

 

[HugePilchard]

I've lost track of which stations have yet to open. Will Bedlington be the final one to open?

I shall be in the area in July and hope they are all open by then.

Yup - With Northumberland Park later this month, it's only Bedlington to go.

 

[317 forever]

Yup - With Northumberland Park later this month, it's only Bedlington to go.

Thank you for letting me know.

Now 2026 seems ideal timing to come and ride the route.

 

[nerdowell]

Double arrows are up at bedlington, lights on on a night time and the barriers along the platforms have been taken down, they're just working on the paving around the station ATM, won't be too long by the looks of it

 

[03_179]

I was tinkering with a trip to Ashington.
When I calculated mileages I had a discrepancy.
So into the Section appendix and a D/L the North East one.

Using the pages I "think" I not have the correct mileage from Newcastle to Ashington.

Station	M - Ch	Note:
Newcastle	00 - 00	Taken from Plaftform 1 Buffers (00-04 ch)
Manors	00 - 42
Benton North Jn	04 - 40
Northumberland Park	06 - 32
Seaton Delaval	14 - 12
Newsham	16 - 60
Blyth-Bebside	18 - 70
Bedlington	20 - 02	Guesstimation
Ashington	23 - 14

I previously had 18m 50ch which didn't seem right.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

 

[swt_passenger]

I was tinkering with a trip to Ashington.
When I calculated mileages I had a discrepancy.
So into the Section appendix and a D/L the North East one.

Using the pages I "think" I not have the correct mileage from Newcastle to Ashington.

Station	M - Ch	Note:
Newcastle	00 - 00	Taken from Plaftform 1 Buffers (00-04 ch)
Manors	00 - 42
Benton North Jn	04 - 40
Northumberland Park	06 - 32
Seaton Delaval	14 - 12
Newsham	16 - 60
Blyth-Bebside	18 - 70
Bedlington	20 - 02	Guesstimation
Ashington	23 - 14

I previously had 18m 50ch which didn't seem right.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

29.94 km so 18.6 miles, so 18m 48ch seems right to me, that’s just by measuring the route on Google maps though. Have you missed one of the changes of mileage, eg at the former Earsdon Jn? Nothumberland Park to Seaton Delaval is only about 3m 30ch.

 

[03_179]

I originally had 18m 50ch. (I'll take 48ch )
I then broke the mileages between stations down and had a 5 mile difference. This is my original mileages:

NCL	0-00
Manors	0-46
Northumberland Park	6-34
Season Delaval	9-59
Newsham	12-29
Blyth Bebside	14-37
Bedlington	15-33
Ashington	18-50

I'll go through again later.

Thanks for the help

 

[androdas]

Bedlington opening has been announced - Sunday 29th March

from https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/news/final-northumberland-line-station-confirmed-march-opening

"The station will remove its barriers and welcome passengers on Sunday, March 29th, with the first train at 8.28am travelling to Ashington, and the train to Newcastle at 8.43am, getting to the city around half an hour later. "

 

[03_179]

My station to station breakdown was thus:
Ashington - Bedlington - 3m 17ch
Bedlington to Blyth - 0m 76ch
Blyth - Newsham - 2m 08ch
Newsham - Seaton - 2m 50ch
Seaton - Northumberland Pk - 3m 34ch
Northumberland Park - Manors - 5m 68ch
Manors - NCL - 0m 46ch

 

[The exile]

29.94 km so 18.6 miles, so 18m 48ch seems right to me, that’s just by measuring the route on Google maps though. Have you missed one of the changes of mileage, eg at the former Earsdon Jn? Nothumberland Park to Seaton Delaval is only about 3m 30ch.

If Blyth Bebside is 18m 70ch from Newcastle, then Bedlington can't be 18m 48ch from the same place. (Distance, rather than mileposts)

 

[swt_passenger]

If Blyth Bebside is 18m 70ch from Newcastle, then Bedlington can't be 18m 48ch from the same place. (Distance, rather than mileposts)

I think all the mileages after Northumberland Park in post #1567 were wrong, they must have been taken from mileposts or SA, and it looks as if the change of origin at Earsdon Junction was missed.

 

[03_179]

I'll go through the Sectional Appendix (again)
Also my Quail Track maps book
And my old Miles and Chains book.

 

[zwk500]

From the Sectional Appendix:

Location	ELR 1	Mileage 1	ELR 2	Mileage 2
Newcastle (General Station Position)	ECM7	0m00
Manors	ECM7	0m46
Benton North Jn	ECM7	4m24	BNE	0m00
Northumberland Park			BNE	2m12
Earsdon Jn (former)	EJM	7m08	BNE	2m52
Seaton Delaval	EJM	9m72
Newsham	EJM	12m40
Blyth Bebside	EJM	14m50
Bedlington (Mileage not explicitly given)	EJM	15m62
Bedlington North Jn	EJM	15m69	BWC	0m00
Ashington			BWC	2m72

The PDF Sectional Appendix Available on the NR website slightly muddies the waters by still having 'BNE' on the pages after the mileage change to EJM.

 

[nerdowell]

Bedlington opening has been announced - Sunday 29th March

from https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/news/final-northumberland-line-station-confirmed-march-opening

"The station will remove its barriers and welcome passengers on Sunday, March 29th, with the first train at 8.28am travelling to Ashington, and the train to Newcastle at 8.43am, getting to the city around half an hour later. "

Excellent news, once that's complete they can focus their efforts into expanding the line to Newbiggin and (in my wildest fantasies ) the Butterwell Branch

 

[yorkie]

Just a gentle reminder that Newbiggin or anywhere else needs to be discussed in the Speculative Discussion section, please.

Please create a new thread for anything speculative, if there isn't one already. For example:

Northumberland Line potential extension to Newbiggin

Formal bid to extend line to Newbiggin now submitted. “A formal bid to extend a railway line which has seen more than 900,000 passenger journeys in the year since it reopened has been submitted. Northumberland County Council asked the North East Combined Authority to extend the Northumberland...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[swt_passenger]

From the Sectional Appendix:

Location	ELR 1	Mileage 1	ELR 2	Mileage 2
Newcastle (General Station Position)	ECM7	0m00
Manors	ECM7	0m46
Benton North Jn	ECM7	4m24	BNE	0m00
Northumberland Park			BNE	2m12
Earsdon Jn (former)	EJM	7m08	BNE	2m52
Seaton Delaval	EJM	9m72
Newsham	EJM	12m40
Blyth Bebside	EJM	14m50
Bedlington (Mileage not explicitly given)	EJM	15m62
Bedlington North Jn	EJM	15m69	BWC	0m00
Ashington			BWC	2m72

The PDF Sectional Appendix Available on the NR website slightly muddies the waters by still having 'BNE' on the pages after the mileage change to EJM.

Which means 18m 49ch in total. (The same distance was determined in a similar discussion here back in Dec 2024.)

 

[03_179]

Thank you
All sorted now

 

[louis97]

From the Sectional Appendix:

Location	ELR 1	Mileage 1	ELR 2	Mileage 2
Newcastle (General Station Position)	ECM7	0m00
Manors	ECM7	0m46
Benton North Jn	ECM7	4m24	BNE	0m00
Northumberland Park			BNE	2m12
Earsdon Jn (former)	EJM	7m08	BNE	2m52
Seaton Delaval	EJM	9m72
Newsham	EJM	12m40
Blyth Bebside	EJM	14m50
Bedlington (Mileage not explicitly given)	EJM	15m62
Bedlington North Jn	EJM	15m69	BWC	0m00
Ashington			BWC	2m72

The PDF Sectional Appendix Available on the NR website slightly muddies the waters by still having 'BNE' on the pages after the mileage change to EJM.

Ashington Station is at 2m75ch, as per the Sectional Appendix LN702 Sequence 001.

Which means 18m 49ch in total.

Making a total of 18m 52ch.

 

[swt_passenger]

Ashington Station is at 2m75ch, as per the Sectional Appendix LN702 Sequence 001.

Making a total of 18m 52ch.

Does that suggest it’s been recently remeasured? Or they’ve moved the measurement spot from mid platform to the buffers?

 

[StoneRoad]

Northumberland Park to open on Feb 22nd, and no confirmed date for Bedlington but the local MP has posted on social media 'March'. Reported on Northumberland County Council facebook and on the BBC here:

Northumberland Park station opening date confirmed

The overdue station on the Northumberland Line will open on 22 February, it is confirmed.

www.bbc.com

update - Bedlington [finally] due to open on 29th March 2026

Bedlington Station opening date confirmed after delays

Bedlington will be the final station to open on the Northumberland Line.

www.bbc.co.uk

so that's me having another trip this year ...

 

[Pelaw Junction]

Great to see and a good interchange to get the Metro to the coast at Cullercoats, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.

The usual noises about more capacity with this announcement.

When you say ‘usual noises’, do you feel it’s unjustified? People want to use the service and already can’t get on at peak times due to overcrowding, so opening the last 2 stations is great in one sense but only going to add to the problem going forward.

The last thing it needs is people giving up on it quickly because they think they won’t reliably be able to use it.

The average commuter isn’t well informed about rolling stock availability. They see a new line open using old trains while seeing other areas get new trains, then they’re told there’s no spare carriages for them.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The average commuter isn’t well informed about rolling stock availability. They see a new line open using old trains while seeing other areas get new trains, then they’re told there’s no spare carriages for them.

How did intending passengers feel in "the bad old days" when certain routes were still using the infamous two-coach Class 142 Pacer units in areas where Northern held sway?

 

[Killingworth]

How did intending passengers feel in "the bad old days" when certain routes were still using the infamous two-coach Class 142 Pacer units in areas where Northern held sway?

We got used to it being very cosy and consoled ourselves with the thought 'better a Pacer than no train'. And yes, there were days when potential users couldn't board with an hour or more to wait for the next. It was interesting to see how some guards managed to cram all aboard by running up and down the platform encouraging everyone to move up the train.

However there were casualties when passengers would get off again before their destination due to the crush. An ambulance had to be called to a train up the Hope Valley at least once causing delays to all other trains. 6 bikes were sometimes rammed in as well.

Northern don't have enough serviceable rolling stock now. Achieving their 30 million extra journeys by 2030 target when they'll have no new carriages before 2031 will be challenging on many routes. Extending the life of current old stock due to be scrapped after 45-50 years might have to be considered.

 

[Brush 4]

The Ashington public mostly wouldn't have been on a train before opening and would have expected a train big enough for the job. They don't need to know the inner workings of the railway, its not their concern.

 

[zwk500]

Yup - With Northumberland Park later this month, it's only Bedlington to go.

Northumberland Park has now had ORR approval published, yesterday 18/02/2026: https://www.orr.gov.uk/sites/defaul...tion-orr-authorisation-letter- 2026-02-18.pdf

 

[Willie Bee]

With the Northumberland Park station about to open in a couple of days, I am wondering whether Nexus Gold cards will be allowed for journeys between the station and Newcastle with Northern Rail .. in the same way as they can be used between Newcastle and Sunderland, also operated by NR

Update .. I see it isn't allowed after a quick internet search

 

[GuyGibsonVC]

The latest station on the Northumberland Line opened today providing connections with the Metro to the coast.

Northumberland Park Station is OPEN | Northumberland County Council

www.northumberland.gov.uk

A new era of connected travel is underway as the latest station on the Northumberland Line opened to passengers this morning (Sun, Feb 22nd).

Council Leader Glen Sanderson was there to welcome the first train and said the scheme had surpassed all expectations.

 

[Acfb]

The Northumberland line stations don't seem to be on the Scotrail ticket machines yet. Strange. Not that many people will buy them from those anyway. Anyway I'm going to Bedlington on the 29th. Will have to remember about the clocks.