Comment: Ashington welcomes back passenger trains

Hello Ashington. The former colliery town has its passenger railway back after almost 60 years, with the upgrading of the freight-only Blyth and Tyne to become the Northumberland Line.

Passenger services started on December 15, and I took a ride a couple of days later.

Returning passenger trains has proved remarkably quick - at least by recent standards.

It helped that there was already a working railway, but it needed considerable work - including new signalling, a bridge to replace one level crossing, and stations to serve Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, and Northumberland Park. Only Ashington and Seaton Delaval opened in December; the rest will follow later this year.

There’s plenty still to do at Northumberland Park, which will be an interchange with Tyne and Wear Metro services. The platform wall is in place and mostly backfilled, but there’s little sign of the lift shaft linking the station with Algernon Drive.

Newsham’s two platforms look almost finished, with only some surfacing to complete. Its redundant signal box remains in place, complete with its internal scaffolding bracing. And if you take a trip before undergrowth returns in spring, you can still see the track of the old Bates branch disappearing just north of Newsham.

There’s a similar platform story at Blyth Bebside, but one lift shaft remains a shell while the other is at least clad.

Bedlington is the least complete. The southbound platform’s wall is in place, but there’s nothing behind it, while on the northbound side there’s little to see except very dark mud.

While the passenger line boasts new LED signalling, you can still see semaphores guarding Winning Junction, where a freight branch heads towards North Blyth.

Network Rail started enabling works in January 2021, and it was later that spring that Northumberland County Council sent its Transport and Works Act Order application into the Transport Secretary, who granted permission the following summer (RAIL 933).

All that said, the county council wanted the line opened last summer - and said as much in January 2024.

However, work took longer than expected, including that new bridge to replace Newsham’s level crossing and to allow commissioning of new signalling on the southern section of the line.

But trains now run, linking Newcastle with Ashington and delivering journey times of around 35 minutes every half-hour from the first southbound departure at 0600 from Ashington to the last train back from Newcastle at 2216 (Mondays to Saturdays, Sunday trains run hourly).

Overall, the line makes it much easier to use public transport. It’s faster than the bus and you don’t have the hassle of finding parking in the city centre.

It should be a success. Time will tell. My trip had a mix of enthusiasts and locals, one of whom said: “This will make life easier to get to me ma’s.”

Ashington’s reopening follows work in Scotland to reconnect Levenmouth earlier in 2024. I hope both are successful, because that will build the case for another line that’s waiting in the wings - Portishead and its proposed line into Bristol.