BRITISH passenger operator Northern has begun training drivers and conductors on the Northumberland Line from Newcastle to Ashington, ahead of regular passenger services starting with the timetable change on December 15.
A class 158 DMU made the first test run along the full 28.8km from Newcastle to Ashington on August 5. Further runs will be made over the coming weeks to equip drivers and conductors with relevant route knowledge.
The line to Ashington closed to passenger traffic in 1964, and the £298.5m reopening project has also involved the Department for Transport (DfT), infrastructure manager Network Rail and Northumberland County Council.
DfT provided funding under its Restoring Your Railway programme, which has now been cancelled under the public spending cuts recently announced by chancellor of the exchequer, Ms Rachel Reeves.
The Northumberland Line reopening project has involved the construction of six new fully accessible stations at Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington and Ashington. Half of these will be complete when the line reopens in December, with the remainder due to open in 2025.
Northern will operate two services an hour in the daytime from Monday to Saturday, and one train and hour in the evenings and on Sunday. The journey time between Ashington and Newcastle will be 35 minutes.
“This marks an important milestone in a major construction project, as it has taken years of hard work to transform this old freight line into a railway that will soon be used by thousands of passengers every week,” says Mr Paul Henry, programme manager for the Northumberland Line at Northern.
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