Formal bid to extend rail route to Newbiggin

COASTAL TOWN 'NEXT STEP' FOR NORTHUMBERLAND LINE

- By JAMES ROBINSON

A FORMAL bid has been submitted to the North East Combined Authority to extend the Northumberland Line to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

The railway, which connects south east Northumberland to Tyneside has been open for a year and has seen almost one million passenger journeys in that time.

That is despite the fact that stations at Northumberland Park and Bedlington will not open until next year. The success of the line has prompted discussions on extending the line further, with Newbiggin identified as a key destination.

However, this would require additional track laying unlike the rest of the reopened line, which used existing freight lines.