Northumberland Line

Northumberland Line
A freight train crossing North Seaton Viaduct (the Black Bridge) over the River Wansbeck between Bedlington and Ashington
Overview
Status	Under construction
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Northumberland Tyne and Wear
Termini	North: Ashington South: Newcastle
Stations	2 (existing) 6 (planned)
Website	https://www.northumberlandline.uk/
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Northern Trains
History
Opened	2024-2025 (planned)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map (Click to expand)

The Northumberland Line is a railway project under construction in North East England; it is aimed at reintroducing passenger rail services to freight-only lines in South East Northumberland. Under the scheme, a new passenger service will link some of Northumberland's major population centres in Ashington and Blyth to the nearby city of Newcastle upon Tyne.^[1] Construction of new stations and works to upgrade the existing rail infrastructure to bring it up to passenger-carrying standards was reported as having begun by late August 2022.^[2] The first anticipated launch date of the new passenger service was December 2023.^[3] However, this was pushed back, first to the summer of 2024 and then in August it changed to December, when three of the new stations will be opened.^[4][5][6] The rest of the stations will open in 2025.^[7]

The new passenger service will run on lines which formerly constituted part of the Blyth and Tyne Railway system, a once-extensive railway network that historically covered much of South East Northumberland. Most of the lines being utilised as part of this project have been without passenger services since 1964, when they were withdrawn as part of the Beeching cuts.^[8]