Bedlington and Bebside railway stations could open six months after rest of Northumberland Line

The leader of Northumberland County Council, Cllr Glen Sanderson, confirmed that the entire railway line was unlikely to be up and running until the end of 2024. It was previously hoped that passengers would be able to use trains by the summer.

Rumours of delays have been circling since November, but the council leader has previously refused to be drawn on when exactly the railway line would open.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ashington and Blyth Local Area Council on Wednesday, Coun Sanderson said he hoped the project would progress sooner.

He said: “It is happening. By November or December, I’m sure trains will be running on that line – it may be sooner, but I’m not sure.

“Don’t blame the county council for the engineering. There have been very challenging conditions, particularly at Bedlington. We can’t overcome them, we have to be patient.

“They will be open six months after the trains start running. I don’t want it to be late, but it is not the county council or the Government’s fault.

“I think rather than saying it might be a few months late running, we say it is going to be a fantastic thing for our residents and our visitors.”

Cllr Sanderson also said the project had ended up costing “far more than we thought it would”.

He was speaking in response to Labour’s Sleekburn councillor, Alex Wallace, who described 2024 as a “year of false dawns” for his ward.

Referring also to a lack of progress on the Britishvolt gigafactory at Cambois, Cllr Wallace said: “We started off with the sun shining with the promise of thousands of jobs and a train coming through. Guess what? We’ve got neither, zilch, nowt.

“I’m very bitter about it, I’m very disappointed. I have been a massive supporter and the Government have put a lot of money in and I’m grateful – but council tax payers in Northumberland have put into it too.”

The Northumberland Line will see passenger rail brought back to the south east of the county for the first time since the 1960s, connecting the likes of Bedlington, Ashington and Blyth with Newcastle.