Green light for new station as restoration of Northumberland line ramps up

The fifth of six new Northumberland line stations has been given the green light.Located at Bebside, the station will include two platforms, pedestrian lifts, road junction improvements and parking for buses, cars, electric vehicles, motorcycles, cycles, and taxis.There will also be a new pedestrian and cycle bridge and landscaping improvements.Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said the council is “delighted” that the station has been given the go-ahead.Plans for a sixth and final station at Newsham, Blyth, will be considered by the council’s Strategic Planning Committee later this year.Planning applications for four of the new stations at Ashington, Bedlington, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park have already been given the go ahead.The scheme will restart regular commuter services on the former Ashington, Blyth and Tyne Line between Newcastle and Ashington. The Department for Transport provided £34M from the Restoring Your Railway fund towards the project in January 2021, with further funding set to be announced once the final designs are approved.The line will provide new and improved transport links for passengers by upgrading 28km of track and signalling, opening six new stations and three new footbridges.It is due to be open by December 2023, with construction work to get underway this summer.In June Network Rail completed work to renew a section of track in Newsham, in preparation for the project.This milestone marked the completion of the first physical piece of work on the project to reintroduce a regular rail passenger service between Ashington and Newcastle, after the line was closed to passengers in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.