By Jason Wade, Regional Director Northeast, Northern Trains & CIRO Board Member
The Northumberland Line: A Regional Revival
In December 2024, after more than 60 years without passenger services, the Northumberland Line welcomed its first passengers— marking a significant milestone in transforming regional connectivity.
This isn’ t just about the reopening of a railway; it’ s about unlocking new opportunities and reinvigorating communities that had been left behind. Since then, the momentum has continued to build.
We now run a half-hourly service Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sundays, with an end-toend journey time of just 35 minutes— a significant improvement over local bus services, which can take nearly three times as long.
With new stations open, thousands of journeys completed, and the final elements of the project due by the end of 2025, we can confidently say: this is a transformational success.
6 CIRO | Bulletin 55