Opening date for final delayed station confirmed
Northumberland County CouncilThe opening date for the final station on a reopened railway line has finally been announced.
The Northumberland Line between Ashington and Newcastle began carrying passengers in December 2024, decades after the old service ended, but Bedlington and Northumberland Park stations remained unfinished.
It was announced in January Northumberland Park would open on 22 February, and now Northumberland County Council has announced Bedlington will officially open to passengers on 29 March.
Conservative leader Glen Sanderson thanked the local community for bearing with the "inevitable disruption".
The overdue opening of Bedlington was blamed on ageing stonework and a water pipe under the car park, and in August an extra £37.9m was provided to ensure the project was completed.
Bedlington residents had reacted angrily to the delays, claiming the town was being treated unfairly.
The council leader said: "I want to thank the local community- I know they've been looking forward to a station in Bedlington for a long time and they've been watching it go up, as well as facing some inevitable disruption that goes with major infrastructure work."
In January, the Northumberland Line reached the milestone of one million journeys since its opening in 2024.
Alex Hornby, Northern's commercial and customer director, said: "Transforming an old freight line into a busy passenger railway with six new stations hasn't been easy, but all of that hard work is paying off as it's having a huge impact on the region."
