Good news for rail passengers in Northumberland: a train line that was closed more than 60 years ago is finally being restored, which will make rain travel to Newcastle and other parts of north eastern England a hell of a lot easier.
At present, the only rail link in the region is the East Coast main line, which follows a route through southern Northumberland. As part of the restoration, freight lines that were previously part of the old Blyth & Tyne network will be upgraded for passenger use.
When the project is completed in 2024, you’ll be able to stop at five stations between Ashington and Newcastle: Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park, where you can transfer to the Tyne & Wear Metro. The end-to-end journey time is expected to be 35 minutes with trains running every half-hour. Pretty exciting stuff.
It’s all part of the UK government’s ‘Restoring Your Railway’ programme, which aims to restore railway connections that fell victim to the mass closures of the 1960s Beeching cuts (a plan which hoped to increase the efficiency of the country’s nationalised railway system).
Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, said: ‘We are delighted to have reached this major milestone which gives the green light for the main construction works to start. This is such a transformational scheme which will bring benefits for residents, businesses and visitors for generations to come.’
It comes at a time when Northumberland is – to put it lightly – popping off. Not only is an epic Anglo-Saxon Museum and English whisky distillery set to open this spring, but the region will also soon be home to a massive all-year-round Christmas-themed playground, as well as a bougie ‘Alice in Wonderland’-themed hotel. The England Coastal Path is also due to be completed this year, winding down from the bottom of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland and along the rest of the English coast. Not too shabby, right?
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