Northumberland Line to make Newcastle traffic jams a ‘thing of the past’

The leader of Northumberland County Council believes Northumberland railway line will make getting stuck in Newcastle traffic jams a "thing of the past".

Councillor Glen Sanderson was speaking at an event to unveil a community art project on the line in Ashington.

Pupils at The Dales School are pictured holding historical photographs of the railway on the hoardings.

The creation of a new station in Ashington forms part of the Northumberland Line project. It will reintroduce passenger rail services to freight-only routes in South East Northumberland.

Historic

Pupils are pictured up holding up historic photos of the line the last time it was used for passenger services in the 1960s.

LRS provided Land Referencing Services to the multi-million pound Northumberland Line project.

The project will return passenger services to what are currently freight-only railway lines between Newcastle and Ashington. In addition, it will serve Bedlington, Blyth, Newsham and Seaton Delaval, driving economic growth and improving journey times.

Milestone

Headteacher Sue Fisher said: “Everyone at The Dales School is delighted to be involved in the Northumberland Line arts strategy.”

Ashington Central county councillor Caroline Ball said: “It is great to see local children involved in the project and see the hoardings in place around the Northumberland Line.

“Every milestone like the hoardings going up is a step closer to the reopening of the line.”

Speaking at the event, Councillor Sanderson said: "This is going to be one of the stations that will take people to work, to school and leisure and bring people into Northumberland. I'm so pleased with these hoardings and I'm so grateful to the kids.

"They show the importance of the railway to the community. It will be a tremendous day when it opens, and we're looking at the early part of 2024.

Importance

"I really feel that this is the future, opening up railway lines to use and enjoy instead of getting stuck in a traffic jam or hours in Gosforth.

"They show the importance of the railway to the community. It will be a tremendous day when it opens, and we're looking at the early part of 2024.

“Projects like this bring the community together, which is so important. The children had such a great time looking at the old photos, showing how Northumberland has changed over the years."

In addition to the new stations, tracks will also be upgraded, accesses will be improved and new signal locations will be created. This will allow an Ashington to Newcastle service to run every 30 minutes from early 2024.

Councillor Glen Sanderson, Leader of Northumberland County Council said:


“This is going to be one of the stations that will take people to work, to school and leisure and bring people into Northumberland. I'm so pleased with these hoardings and I'm so grateful to the kids.


“They show the importance of the railway to the community. It will be a tremendous day when it opens, and we're looking at the early part of 2024.


“I really feel that this is the future, opening up railway lines to use and enjoy instead of getting stuck in a traffic jam or hours in Gosforth.


“They show the importance of the railway to the community. It will be a tremendous day when it opens, and we're looking at the early part of 2024.


“Projects like this bring the community together, which is so important. The children had such a great time working and looking at the old photos, showing them how Northumberland has changed over the years."