Council leader hails 'great day' for Northumberland Line despite station delays

Stations at Northumberland Park, Blyth Bebside and Bedlington are unlikely to open until 2025 and there had been fears the entire line’s opening would be pushed back until the end of the year.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of Northumberland County Council, leader Glen Sanderson said: “It is a great day, because we have released the timetable for the opening of the Northumberland Line which we have all been waiting for, for years and years.

“The incredibly challenging engineering challenges that have faced our contractors mean we have had to pause things slightly. But, don’t worry – all of the stations will open and they will be open as soon as they can be.

“The trains will be running in just a few months time.”

The council blamed a number of factors for the delays. These included contamination and buried services, inflationary pressures and historic mine workings.

There are also ‘complex interfaces with signalling and access to the railway which remains open to freight trains’.

Cllr Malcolm Robinson, Bedlington West, said the move was a ‘kick in the teeth’ for the town’s residents who were being treated as ‘second class citizens’.