A previously abandoned railway line between Newcastle and Ashington has reopened, with passengers able to use the service for the first time in 60 years.
The Northumberland line ran its first passenger service since 1964 on Sunday morning, leaving Newcastle at 7:57am, shortly after sunrise, stopping at Seaton Delaval and arriving in Ashington to cheering crowds.
The return of the service follows a long and challenging £300m renovation project. Northern, the now-government-run operator, will run a half-hourly service on the 18-mile route, which will take about 35 minutes.
The leader of Northumberland county council, Glen Sanderson, described the reopening as an “exceptionally proud moment”, saying it had taken “years of planning and significant investment” .
“Today shows what can be achieved when people work together to produce something that is brilliant, provides lasting social benefits for many and brings hugely significant economic benefits to the area,” he said.
The line was one of the victims of the Beeching rail cuts in 1964, when declining passenger use led to closure of 2,128 stations and more than 4,000 miles of track.
There had been calls since the 1990s to bring back the service, with Northumberland council leading the push for its return in the late 2010s.
After receiving planning permission, the project’s opening date was pushed back several times, while its cost increased from initial estimates of £160m. A large part of rise was down to the costs of a new road bridge at Newsham tripling to £30m.
For now, the service stops at only three stations. The completed project will serve four more at Newsham, Bedlington, Blyth Bebsibe and Northumberland Park, but these will open in 2025.
Fares between Newcastle and Ashington will cost a maximum of £3 at peak times, while travellers under 21 will pay £1 with a Pop Blue card.
Northern has recruited 20 drivers and 18 conductors, and plans to train as many as 100 drivers and 82 conductors in total.
The Northumberland line is one of a number axed as part of the Beeching cuts to reopen to passengers in recent years.
The Dartmoor line between Okehampton and Exeter reopened in November 2021 with regular services for the first time since the early 1970s. The operator, Great Western Railway, said more than 120,000 journeys were made in its first year of operation.
In 2020, the Conservatives launched the Restoring Your Railway fund to try to reopen more of the axed Beeching lines, but the Labour government recently scrapped it.
The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, who attended a reopening ceremony last week, said: “I had the pleasure of meeting some of the people whose lives will change for the better thanks to this line, and it once again demonstrates that investment in transport isn’t just about getting from A to B, it’s a tool to unlock opportunity and growth in every corner of the country.”
