A Trip To The Northumberland Line – 7th November 2025
On Friday, I went to Newcastle to have a look at the new Blyth Bebside station.
I took these pictures between Newcastle and Ashington stations.
Note.
- The impressive slim bridge over the railway at Newsham station. Other places could imitate this. See Bicester Village Station – 28th May 2025.
- The well-filled car park at Newsham station.
- The large amount of new housing.
- The recently-opened Blyth Bebside station.
- The crossing of the River Blyth.
- The under-construction Bedlington station.
- The crossing of the River Wansbeck.
- The single platform Ashington station.
- The train took 36 minutes for the 18 miles.
- According to staff, there is no hostelry close to the station at Ashington, but there is a good gluten-free pub at Seaton Delaval station, that I wrote about in Seaton Delaval Station – 30th March 2025.
I then returned to Blyth Bebside station and took these pictures.
Note.
- Blyth Bebside station is fully step-free.
- There is a sizable car park.
- The wind turbines of Blyth Harbour wind farm can be seen in the distance from the station bridge.
- I estimate the platforms at the station will take a five-car Hitachi Class 802 train or a pair of two-car Class 158 trains.
These are some further thoughts.
The Platforms On The Northumberland Line Are Long
Consider.
- As I said earlier the platforms in the stations appear to be long enough to handle a five-car Hitachi Class 802 train or a pair of two-car Class 158 trains.
- From what some have said about the line, I suspect four-car trains will be needed soon for Newcastle matches.
- But would this be enough, if a local hero like Sting decided to have a Summer concert on the beach?
- Lengthening platforms is often a pain, if you don’t make them long enough.
So were Network Rail just making sure that the track was fit for all eventualities?
Could The Northumberland Line Be Electrified?
These pictures show Platform 1 at Newcastle station, where Northumberland Line trains usually terminate at Newcastle.
Note.
Railway Station Opening Date Announced
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A date has been announced for the latest station to be completed on a new railway line.
These two introductory paragraphs add more details.
Blyth Bebside, on the Northumberland Line, will be opening on 19 October and only two stations remain before the line is fully operational.
The final stations at Bedlington and Northumberland Park are due to open in early 2026.
I shall be going for the opening of the new station, if I can get a Lumo both ways.
Cafe Plans For Derelict Building On New Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
A disused building on a newly reopened railway line could be saved if planners back proposals, external for its renovation.
These three paragraphs give more details.
One structure at Bedlington station in Northumberland has already been demolished but plans have been submitted which would save the building on the northbound side.
It was used until 1964 when the line closed, and while passenger services on the Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle resumed last year, a new station in Bedlington has not yet been completed.
East Bedlington Parish Council chair Keith Grimes said: “It’s one of the oldest buildings in the parish, so it’s definitely worth keeping.”
I wrote about my visit to the new Northumberland Line in My First Trip On The Northumberland Line – 18th December 2024.
If the Northumberland Line is going to attract leisure travelers, a sprinkling of cafes along the line is a must.
These are pictures of Bedlington from my earlier trip.
Note.
- I’d hoped I’d got a picture of the prospective cafe. But no luck.
- I didn’t see any Bedlington Terriers either.
- But then there are several of those excellent and distinctive dogs, near where I live in London.
The station should be operational this year, but it appears there’s still a lot of work to do.
Access To The Coast
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines of Northumberland in relation to the coast.
Note.
- The orange line is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
- Morpeth is the station on the Western edge of the map.
- The yellow line is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The site of the new Bedlington station is indicated by the blue arrow.
It looks to me, that there are a lot of disused railway lines, that could be used to develop the Northumberland Line into a system with a much wider coverage.
The Wikipedia entry for the Northumberland line does say this about Ashington station.
Ashington station has been developed in such a way that an extension, such as that previously proposed to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Woodhorn could still be built, albeit part of a separate scheme.
Note.
- Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is East of Ashington.
- Woodburn is on a line that goes to the West of the East Coast Main Line.
- The extensions would open up the area for more housing and rail-oriented leisure activities.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railway lines to the West and North of Newcastle.
Note.
- The orange line on the East side of the map is the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Morpeth.
- The yellow line to the East of the East Coast Main Line, is the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington.
- The green line is the Tyne and Wear Metro
- The orange line going along the bottom edge of the map is the Tyne Valley Line between Newcastle and Carlisle via Corbridge and Hexham.
- All the lines meet at Newcastle station.
- Woodburn station is indicated by the arrow on disused lines that connect Morpeth on the East Coast Main Line with the Tyne Valley Line.
Reopening the lines to Woodburn would create a new railway, that would encircle Newcastle and surely create lots of housing, business and leisure opportunities.
But let’s get Phase One finished first and see how passenger numbers develop.
Northumberland Line Station Contracts Are Signed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Nexus.
These are the first three paragraphs.
The signs are good for the new Northumberland rail line after the green light was given for construction to get underway on three new stations.
Contracts have been exchanged for principal contractor Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to formally start work on Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Seaton Delaval stations.
Main construction works are progressing at pace, with station works well underway at Newsham and works approaching completion in Ashington, and 21km of new track is already installed.
It certainly looks like it’s all systems go.
I hope Network Rail have the next reopening ready to go!
Northumberland Line: Construction Of New Stations To Begin
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The construction of three stations for a new Northumberland rail line is set to begin.beec
These are the first three paragraphs.
Northumberland County Council said contracts had been exchanged for work to start on Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Seaton Delaval Stations.
The project is described as a “key milestone” to restore passenger services lost in the 1960s.
It is planned to run a half-hourly passenger service along the 18-mile (29km) lines.
It certainly seems that the reopening of this line is progressing.
Northumberland Line On Track As Approval Granted
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the first three paragraphs.
A new rail line in Northumberland – including six new stations – is on track after getting ministers’ support.
The aim is to open the stations and upgrade track between Newcastle and Ashington by December 2023.
Following an inquiry, the government has granted a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) authorising the closure of level crossings and purchase of land.
Northumberland Council said it was a “key milestone”.
These two paragraphs describe the project.
Construction work on the line is due to start this summer.
It is planned to run a half-hourly passenger service along the 18-mile line, stopping at Bedlington, Blyth, Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park Metro station.
We need more rail reopening like this to level-up the country.
Two More Stations For The Northumberland Line Are Approved
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Northumberland Post Leader.
- Northumberland Park and Ashington stations have already been approved.
- Bedlington and Seaton Delaval stations have just been approved.
- That leaves Bebside and Newsham to be approved.
It could soon be all systems go for the builders.
The Anonymous Widower 