The Northumberland Line is Reopening 

It's a shame about Northumberland Park because otherwise the stations would be named in alphabetical order from north to south

I'm always encouraged that 60 years after Beeching, things are slowly being reinstated. Maybe theres hope for public transport. Its like rewatching the Victorian era in slow-mo. Thanks Geoff.

As a soft southerner, I'm really happy to see new infrastructure projects like this opening in the north.

I was sat in Costa inside the Newcastle station, when you shot this video. Although I didn't recognize you from a distance, I remember seeing a 158 at Platform 1 with no timetable on the monitor and a lot of staff in orange hi vis, with a few more being dropped off from a passing Diesel train with the Colas Rail Livery, forgotten the class it was. Just feels surreal to now know what the train that peaked my interest was for and that you were on it. I hope you enjoyed your visit up north during your down time when not recording :)

I’m so excited for this line to reopen. It takes an hour on the bus to get from blyth to Newcastle plus a good 10 minute walk to central. This is gonna save SO MUCH TIME!!!

I've lived near London since the early eighties, but grew up very close to Palmersville Metro, which you would have passed as the Metro station before Northumberland Park. I also spent a lot of time in Ashington and Blyth. The Northumberland line solves a few problems that have plagued the area since the closure of the extensive coalfield. In preparation for the pit closures, it seemed that the authorities were preparing for a very road based future and constructed a network, fanning out from the Tyne Tunnel, to fuel a massive industrial development of the area after the pits closed. They had some success with the new town of Cramlington and maybe the port of Blyth, but the area stagnated. What seems to have happened, however, is that the people in what is basically South-East Northumberland, used the road networks to find work on Tyneside. The morning and evening traffic can become crazy. So finally, they've built the commuter railway that should have been built at least thirty years ago!

The integration with the Metro fare system is exciting to me, it makes me wonder if Metro tickets and Pop cards can be rolled out to places like Hexham, Durham, Chester, Seaham and Horden under the framework of the new North East combined authority.

Great to see you venturing up north Geoff. I hope you will also support and observe the leamside line and Washington loop openings.

That 158 still looks fresh, clean, and modern for a train that's over 30 years old! Still a good train! Great to see the North East getting some ❤️. Hopefully, more rail infrastructure projects to come!.

Love seeing more stations being built/rebuilt/reopened.

About time, the Tyne and Wear county really needs more stations

It is going to be a very popular line with cyclists in Newcastle and North Tyneside - it will be much easier to reach the coastal route going north from Druridge Bay. But the main benefit will be for commuters and students in Ashington (apart from Newcastle's two universities, both Gateshead College and Newcastle College are a short walk from the Metro). There is a fairly frequent bus service from Ashington to Newcastle but it takes twice as long as the train even if it is not held up by the morning traffic jams in Gosforth High Street.

Just got home, new Geoff video to watch whilst eating dinner. Perfection

its really great we are seeing old lines being reopened, long may this continue.

Always great to hear about line reopenings, hopefully there'll be more stories like this one in the future!

Ahhh so this is what being built near Blyth Town FC, i see now! This is a good thing

Good to see a line, probably much needed, re-opening after 60yrs after Beeching's axe. If the lovely semaphore signals are being replaced, I hope they are given to a heritage line and not just destroyed.

With a name like mine, I'm going to have to visit Newsham some day!

Great video of my 'homeland'. This is great news for the locals, used to live in Delaval in the 80s, and as a short cut used to walk the line between Delaval, New Hartley and Newsham as so few trains used the line. I visit many times each year to visit family and friends, surprised that it's not the Metro like. Look forward to using it many thanks Geoff 👍

as a resident of ashington, this line is so needed and i cannot wait!

Great to see some new lines opening across the country. Work is getting along well!

Just had an interview today for a guard position with northern to be based out of NCL. If I’m successful it would be good to think I’d possibly be working the first revenue earning service that you’ll be itching to be on or when you’re doing one of your ‘visit every station’ vids when the staggered opening of the remaining three takes place! Always great to see new projects in my part of the world, hopefully the leamside line next…. 🤞🏻

Thank you, Geoff,. Nice to see we're aren't forgotten up here in the Frozen North!

Great video, Geoff. I live in Northumberland so this will be great. Cannot wait.

Very special video for me Geoff, when i first discovered your videos way back in 2013 i lived in Blyth, had done all my life and lived a stone’s throw from what is to be Newsham’s Station that you visited when i was a kid. I now live in North Yorkshire and am still very fond of home, and also fond of trains so seeing the line reopening is special, and having you visit it is too. What is most special is that this line coming back was spoken about, campaigned for and promised for years and years and i think everyone locally had given up hope that it would ever actually happen, but it has which is amazing :) can’t wait to see you go back as the stations open Geoff, To The Trains :)

So excited to see you cover this, we've just moved into a house a stone's throw away from the newsham station, the new infrastructure project was a big draw for us when we picked it out!

A very professional video, congratulations. It is inspiring to see redevelopment of railway infrastructure like this, particularly for someone like me who lived through the misery of the Beeching era onwards.

Writing about this line in my dissertation, it really is great to see

It's great to see a whole 'new' line opening and the fact that there has been some thought about the fares charged...! This should happen on more 'goods only' lines....

Wow. I know that line through Ashington from when I stayed a few times with my Cousins, when they lived at Sandpiper Way on the Nursery Park Estate. Could actually see the line from their bedroom windows. I thought it was Freight Only. Never knew it was a diversion route as I never saw any passenger services along there....there's absolutely ZERO trackside fencing, and you could walk along the tracks and over the nearby bridge across the River Wansbeck (if you were stupid enough!). That bridge made the news several years ago, when a couple of local thugs threw a dog off it!

Geoff you'll have to come to Belfast to see the work on our two new stations. These are Belfast Grand Central (replacing Great Victoria Street) and York Street (replacing Yorkgate). The new Belfast GC has 7 platforms + 26 bus stands making it the largest station on the island of Ireland! I'm told Gt Victoria St closes in May and the new GC station opens in late August.

I would absolutely love to meet you you are fantastic and your videos brighten my day

Ahh the video I've been waiting for. A week or so ago an article about a new rail line popped up on my Bing homepage and it was about this line. The last section was about a quote from the RU-vidr Geoff Marshall

Amazing to see the trains back on the channel after the bus journeys! Great to see a new line coming in the north, about time 😅

Thank you for this excellent video. Good to see the progress in the re-opening of the line to Ashington.

Every time you do a video like this, you become more a journalist and less a RU-vidr in my eyes. And that’s a meant in a good way.

Geoff this is ACE . The latest redevelopment of British National Railways is full on now . I love this Geoff because the Bus Journey is long !!

Bedlington, where the first ever Dutch locomotive, De Arend, was made !

Great to see a railway coming back to life. Pity about the frequency being so low.

Great to see plenty of "maps" in this video.

Seaton Delaval sounds very French (as usual from an apparently local Norman family that came over from Laval in France...)

Was nice to see you Geoff all be it from my bedroom window as you passed over Choppington crossing!! Its a shame its taken so long and even more a shame that they have again relegated Bedlington to "opening at a later date" The council really dont like Bedlington..

yoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! i live in northumberland, happy to see the new line coming along :)

When I was 10 my brother and I explored these original trains Monkseaton to Blyth , Newbiggen

Saw you vlogging on that trip and now the RU-vid algorithm sent your video to my feed. I'm documenting the project (photographically) for Morgan Sindall, working for the social value team. If only it wasn't always so wet - haha.

We are going to Newbiggin in April from Nottingham and going to miss the opening by just a few months. Me and my lad are going to make a special trip back once it’s opened.

Having seen the reopening of the Okehampton/Dartmoor line, it makes me so happy to see another old line reopening! And you mentioned at 1:05 that this line has been used for freight - I wonder if it's any coincidence that the Dartmoor Line was also being used for freight while it was closed for passengers? And the fact that the track and trackbed were all still in situ and being used for trains, even if the passenger services and stations were closed, were a deciding factor in their re-opening - i.e. not needing to completely start from scratch, clear the old trackbed and re-lay track all over again? Either way, this is lovely to see, and I'm excited to come visit at some point :) Oh, and I hope the semaphores and cute little signal box at Bedlington North Junction have new homes to go to!

Wonderful to see this line get its passenger trains back. Next, get the Leamside line reopened!

Addition to the nexus pop area is a big win and will make travel a lot more attractive

Nice to see Newsham box again. Waaaay back in time the lad who used to run our rail and bus trips to various depots around the country was a signalman at Newsham. Good to see another line reopening to passengers too, though I hope they don’t demolish the box.

Thank you for all your work Geoff in producing your transport vlogs, I find them very informative and interesting. As I live in the area I will take a trip on the line when it's fully operational. It's a shame it's a few years too late as I work in an office in Longbenton which is due to be closing in 2027 and moving to the centre of Newcastle.

South-East-North-umberland - that gets my head in a knot!

This makes me feel very giddy to see as someone from the south. Though I'm unimpressed by trains running every half hour in each direction...

Integration with the Metro is an excellent plan

I hope the line is extended through to Newbiggin again, an extra station at Seghill built and maybe some journeys continuing to the MetroCentre

Always existed about a new line opening, can't wait for the opening of the Leven line in spring .

Great video Geoff. You’ve made my day.

ah damn, geoff marashall was literally 100m from my flat and i didnt get to say hi!!! so glad were getting some proper rail service up here and that itll connect to the metro, cant wait for it to be open

I was hoping you would cover this line!

As a retired freight train driver that signed to Lynemouth, it’s very strange to see regeneration rather than decline! This area has seen so little in the last 40yrs! Great news!

Thanks very informative

Thank you for the video Geoff that was very interesting. ❤

I live near Ashington and this is going to make my commute to and from work so much easy. Really looking forward to it fully opening

I can remember with fondness getting the trains from Blyth to Newcastle in 1964, they were steam trains then though. Can't wait to get on the train again 🎉

Great video Geoff, very informative! 😀

I went down to the station at Ashington this morning and it looks almost complete. There's a bike rack and some of the signage is up so probably not much left for them to do there.

So they haven’t done the full route familiarisation run yet, so I haven’t missed you at Ashington then! Excellent!

Love the connection to the metro, so much easier to travel!

I love how i saw my friend Jamie on the station at the beginning of this video! He was in your video "Manors least used" a few years back haha!! Great video Geoff!

Great to see the Northern 158 looking splendid.

Great! Looking forward to similar investment in Notts for the extensions to the Robin Hood line via the Dukeries and Maid Marian lines soon. You'll be welcome to do the video when they arrive!

Great to see this reopening. Any news on the reopening/rebuilding of the Plymouth-Tavistock line?

Really excellent video

Perfect with a new video from Geoff. Watching it while being in a gym

Love your videos Geoff ❤

Thanks Geoff..has been interesting to watch the line developing over the last year.

Great video Geoff featuring my area. I’m looking forward to the line being completed, as I’m in Bedlington, getting into the city usually takes around an hour or so by bus and of course great forward links to the ECML for onward travel.

Great to see this coming along nicely. Looking forward to trying it out and seeing more places north of Newcastle

I've worked in Bedlington North and South signal boxes aswell as Newsham. I remember last time I was at Newsham there was a lot of activity starting there and the signaller said it would be "all change". That was a fair while ago now and this video is the first I've seen of it since! Shame to see the old signal boxes going. I may there to aid its decommission perhaps :(

Brilliant video Geoff! .I live in Morpeth and just found this on RU-vid-keep up the good work

Very nice video

Doesn't sound like a new line under construction, more like reopening/reconstruction of stations on an existing freight line. Still great news! 👍

Fantastic news well documented Geoff, comming from the north east myself, wonder what other line will reopen.....

Good video!

Geoff, I love your RU-vid a lot BIG FAN!

Nice to see my hometown (Ashington) finally getting (re)connected by rail

Great to see another line opening and good to see it happening in the North

I saw this train pass my house a while ago... never thought that Geoff might be on it!

Yes Geoff my part of the woods this. Seaton Delaval Hall a bit of a hike from the station

As a Blyth native living in the south now I can't wait for this to open. I'll be keeping a look out for opening date and hope to be on the first train!

it actually looks exciting geoff.

Thanks Geoff - I always thought you were far too good a presenter to limit yourself to the (albeit excellent) London rail stuff ! I'll be going on this as soon as it opens

Really good, lets hope for more across the Northern network

Thanks

That's great news, made even better by the use of a British built class 158 a perfect example of Britain used to be able to do. This part of the world was the birth place of railways, it a crazy situation we see today where so many of the trains used in the UK are made overseas.

Nice to see them re-opening closed Railway lines!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂

Nice to see you up here in the North East. Highlight of the video, your pronunciation of Seaton Delaval. Made it sound dead posh. 😉

Great vid Geoff🎉🎉

We used to live in Ashington. Giving that area rail access to Newcastle and the wider network will bring regeneration to that area. So glad to see it!!

This is great, excellent!