That brass band is very Victorian, just like opening a station on the Liverpool and Manchester railway in 1830 (edit : William IV was King then, of course, so very pre-Victorian)
It just goes to show how wrong it was in the Beeching days, to rip up all those lines rather than just moth ball them, but hindsight is another thing! Great Video, many wise words spoken by all!
Must be annoying living in one of these towns where the railway still physically existed but with no passenger services at all. Quite a few places all around the country like that as well. Places like Royal Wootton Bassett, Portishead and Marchwood/ Hythe in the south/ south west alone. This line still has a physical rail connection to Morpeth from both Ashington and Bedlington, so hopefully the potential is there for further expansions to the service and to further improve regional connectivity. The loss of such connectivity with nothing much to replace it was a massive mistake in the late 20th century, I think governments since then have really regretted it.
@pavo45 Beeching was correct at the time, Decisions made then cannot be judged as wrong with the passage of time... Trains in 2024 are a scam on the consumer, a way to enrich a few at the taxpayers expense... Who spent £200m? Explain how paying £6 return is not a scam?
As usual Geoff goes the extra mile and pops to bridge to show us viewing public the station from a distance this is why Geoff is the best at what he does❤. Love your videos Sir, of what is history you are collecting for us here on TH-cam
I expected the first train from Newcastle would be busy with other enthusiasts and it was; I was pleased and surprised to see so many locals waiting to board the first train from Ashington at 8 o'clock on a December Sunday morning. Not many people got off the next arrival, but it was reasonably busy when it departed at 09:36. We have been waiting for this (and the new Metro Class 555s) for a very long time, but it seems things really are getting better. (Just for once I didn't have to travel miles to take part in a railway event, I live just up the road from Newcastle Central 😀).
I got the first train to Ashington in the morning and saw much the same as you (came from Gateshead), bit of breakfast in the wetherspoons and second one back. Very noticeable how local the crowd back to Newcastle was. Took some mildly enthusiast mates up the line later on in the day and again, it was practically full and standing on some of the early afternoon trains - met old friends and work colleagues purely by chance. You could tell how much it meant to people - especially with the fares being so reasonable in this not particularly affluent area...
Great great news for our region! Loved the band playing the Blaydon Races and the Northumberland flag waving! Really pleased this project has come to fruition and hopefully opens up more joined up transport in South East Northumberland/Newcastle/North East in general. #HowayTheTrains
I grew up next to this line. It closed when I was 10. Nowadays, traffic around Newcastle in the mornings and evenings can be awful. This will be a big help for people. There is already talk in the local press about extending the line to Newbiggin. There is also a freight line to Morpeth that can be brought back into passenger use. This is going to be a big success.
Massive benefit that you touched upon… integration with Tyne and Wear metro at Northumberland park and central station… AND Northumberland line is covered by the Pop card (including a new zone D). With “overland” main line routes like this being added the regional system is getting back up to the strength of the “Tyneside Electrics” of the early 20 century🤩
My Wife works in a School in this area - some of the kids thought the Tyne Tunnel was a 'time tunnel,' most had never heard of it or had no idea what it was for. She's took them to Newcastle for pantomimes and such and they looked stunned as they got off the bus. A wild thing to be visiting a city only 20miles away. This is a game changer, its opened up opportunity for both the city and Northumberland. The bus system sucks - its takes too long during rush hour times. A huge congratulations to all involved, I can only imagine the persistance needed to get this over the line. Although, why has this taken 14 years from concept to opening (what is only half a project at this stage) during a time when we had a government rattling on about 'levelling up the north.' Again, congratulations to the team involved in making sure Nortumberland isnt forgotten about.
Been watching the trains all day from my bedroom window, knew you would be on one of them Geoff ;) Edit: btw I’ve been seeing 4 unit trains all day, which makes me so happy
Hey Geoff, great to see this video i knew would be coming! I was born in Blyth just over the river from Ashington and Lived there 24 Years. Reopening the line always seemed to get talked about but never got anywhere, to see it finally happen is amazing, even if i am now in North Yorkshire. Newsham, which you did a video on the construction of, was a stone’s throw from my old house, and Bebside is also very familiar to me, can’t wait to see your videos when those stations open. Got into your videos through my love of the tube and the railways, but never thought i’d see you at stations so near to my birthplace, but here we are, aren’t Railways Brilliant! Thank You Geoff :)
Odd coincidences here, my Mum's side of the Family are Blyth born, in the Newsham area. I myself am a Yorkie, having recently moved down here for work from near Berwick. It always did strike me odd that Blyth had the freight, but no active station, growing up and visiting.
I was hoping you’d return for the opening. Such a great day to have the line reopen. It will open so many doors for people who can now easily get to Newcastle.
This is the message I keep hearing from people (mostly the council) but it's absolute nonsense. People can already 'easily get to Newcastle" - buses have offered this forever, they're a bit slower but I doubt a quicker trip will tip many people out of their cars - maybe but I sorta doubt it For proof of that - Metro offered a number of 'park and ride' stations - one of which is Northumberland Park (shortly to be added to this line) - the carpark there is ALWAYS empty - literally no-one uses it - once someone's in their car, they tend to just stay in their car At least Ashington Station is in the town centre - Blyth's 2 stations are effectively "in the middle of fields" - they literally back-onto nothing - I'd argue neither is technically in "Blyth" - a case of "Penrith South Lakes" levels of nonsense...
@@dizzy2020well, thanks for your opinion. This line opening certainly helps someone like me who doesn’t drive or rather I can’t drive. I welcome your point of view however.
It's a bit annoying to pay loads of money to go on railtours to travel along these freight-only lines, only to have them reopened to passengers later. Maesteg, Ebbw Vale, Ashington, etc etc! Only kidding - great to see these reopenings. Hope they reopen to Newbiggin one day. Then there's Pelaw to Washington...
Pelaw to Washington, yep that is the one they need to prioritize. Big prize to be gained there. The population of Washington has pretty much trebled since the original passenger service closed. If they could link it directly into Sunderland as well then that would be even better.
...or the Leamside, Durham line - where locals once sadly watched the lines being ripped up for weeks only to discover it was gangs theiving the track!!
Pelaw to Washington and then connecting the Metro loop to South Hylton is the obvious one. But that is a big job, much bigger than the Northumberland line and without the large unserved population centres of the likes of Ashington and Seaton.
This is an emotional one as a Tyneside lad. Every train today seemed busy - you can say it's first day enthusiasts or christmas shoppers, but frankly most of the people on the trains especially into the afternoon were just making use of this great new facility. This is a game changer for a town that has had far too many setbacks in recent decades - if anything it will struggle to cope with the deluge of people who want to use it especially when Newcastle United play at home!! And bravo Geoff for doing my home region justice, I've watched you since I was an actual kid, enjoyed so many of your videos when at uni not too far from London. To welcome you to our region is a privilege, and I hope you sample each of the line's stations, once it finally reaches completion hopefully in the next year or so...
Great news that the fares are capped at £3.00. As a Senile Old Git who gets free bus travel I'd still pay £6.00 for a service I was reasonably certain would actually run and would take an hour or more off the round trip. I've spent far too much time standing by the side of a road, looking at a bus app and eventually getting a cab because the last bus, due around 1730(!), simply didn't run. I wish I lived in Ashington!
I notice Tim has managed to get away from the London Underground. I reckon you lot hunt in packs. Great vid thanks. Ah he even gets lines. Do you have to pay him now?
Great to see another line in Passinger Use again and more stations Reopened. With this and the New Stations opening. It gives you more Hooe for the future
weirdly enough, i am doing JUST that in the new year! Spoilers! a non-TfL bus, whom i'm spending the day with ... ( the RP1 is also another good shout, yes! )
Great news but why did it take so long to reinstate passenger services on a line that was being used for freight? And why has it cost over £200 million?
Funny you should say that. Seaton Delaval Hall is about a mile from the station. It was designed by Vanbrugh who was a playwright as well as an architect, and the Delaval family was famous for putting on plays and other entertainments.
An old fashioned Shakespearean actor who, in his later years, took a role in a 1970s TV sitcom that overshadowed the rest of his career, becoming all the public remembered him for.
I was there today on the Northumberland line. I took a trip down from Glasgow. Journey going was 2 class 156s coupled together from NCL to Ashington, the return was 2 158s. I was too late in arriving for the fanfare playing for the opening of the line at Ashington. What a crowd turned up. Once the new intermediate stations are opened in 2025, it will be great. I did not realise that this will be zone D on the Tyne and wear metro day ticket, or weekly and monthly tickets. Great video coverage 👍 👏
I travelled especially from London to come here. Loved it! Great video, Geoff Looking forward to other vids. (Like Colindale Stn reopening ~ 20th December).
Geoff, Great to see the video. Good to bump into you again at the station....positive football game for me down in Southend! Love the north east content.
Great to see, big population up there, i really hope it'll be a huge success. I remember when the freight lines at my hometown (Rugeley) became vacant and the Walsall - Rugeley line was reopened for passenger use. It's now electrified and really well used, well over 150,000 people reconnected to the network.
Hi Geoff Why do new or refurbished stations not have level boarding? It’s great to see new stations being built but it is disappointing for people like myself who struggled to use trains when they have a gap and a height between the train and platform.
The standardised platform height is 915 mm to the best of my knowledge. It would be level boarding if trains with doorway floors of that height were used, like the Stadler FLIRT trains used on Merseyrail, Greater Anglia and Transport for Wales - and, soon, the Tyne & Wear Metro. What's needed is to make 915mm boarding height compulsory for all new trains operating only within Britain. The Class 158s replacement must meet this requirement.
@@ianhudson2193 They knew what trains were going to to be used when they built the platforms - the argument of "but new trains will be the right height" is some grade A copium...
amazing to have new rail lines open, my only criticism would be the lack of electrification, though hopefully they've built it so it'll be easy to add in the future.
Is that the first double arrow sign of the new GBR branding? It looks very different to BR station signs of old. Not sure if that logo is the new GBR dimensions or the old BR ones on a different surround?
A great day indeed - I'm happy this has finally come to fruition, although some of the other stations on the line won't open till later in 2025. I just hope the local population use it fully - if they don't, well, we all know where that ends up. I'd definitely use it to get to Northumberland Park, once that opens, as it might shave off 10-15 mins of getting there via the Metro.
Silly question from a person living in Scandinavia, Sweden. Are there any plans to continue the traffic to either Morpeth or Widdrington on the main line to Scotland? What I can see is there no station in Blyth, but would it be possible to reopen the line down to Blyth centrum/ harbour? Also I am very impressed you saw Tim Dunn, famous for the BBC program of railway architecture.
I understand the need to build a new platfromatt Ashington, but it does feel relatively poorly integrated with the town, with no access to the east adn difficult access from the north. A footbridge would much immprove this and I can see this being included in the future, but would it not have been easier to do before the line opened!.
That's nothing to Blyth - a larger town with TWO stations NEITHER of which is anywhere near the town so a bus ride is required to access them - and that bus likely goes to Newcastle anyway which begs the question "why would you get off and pay twice??" The other thing to bear-in-mind is Blyth and Ashington are dying towns where people live only because they can't afford to live anywhere else - there's no jobs, no amenities, no reason for anyone to visit so this route exists purely to 'get people out of those towns' which is great IF you're going to Newcastle I guess...
I'm not sure what these access issues are at Ashington as the station is in the town center. Easily accessed on foot, bike, car and of course we can't forget horse and cart. Plenty of EV charging in the car park but it lacks stables. As for the Newsham and Blyth stations... Try walking or cycling if you're physically able to. There's no need to get a bus. Today's fun fact is where I live (Newbiggin) it'll be quicker for me to walk to Ashington Train Station to get to Newcastle than catching the X21.
12noon update on this line's first weekday - over 40 cars parked at Seaton Delaval where the 12:07 towards Ashington was about a third-full in its 2-car format & a few folk got off it with a few others getting on board.
Always good to see a new station being opened ☺️👏 Pedantry alert - I've spotted a typo on the timetable, second train from Ashington to Seaton Delaval would be arriving at 0648 I would have thought, not 0848 👍
Enjoyed your video on Northumberland line, had a ride on it today opening day, much better than the bus and they got destination right this time on front of train😅
I wasn't there today, but I'm one of a slowly decreasing band who travelled from Ashington by rail before the station closed at the end of October 1964. My last trip was a return to Newcastle on 15th October '64, a Thursday, when we were given a day off school because the school was being used as a general election polling station. (Harold Wilson won). The old station, built in red brick with a glass and wrought iron canopy over the southbound platform was a delight to look at, with a welcoming coal fire burning in the waiting room to keep travellers toasted.
This is great, BUT…! It could’ve been so much better if it continued beyond Ashington round to the ECML, Pegswood and Morpeth before returning to Newcastle. Why couldn’t it have been worked as a loop service in both directions? Surely that would’ve made a lot of sense.
It really will be a game changer once open in full. But it already looked on Sunday that "regular" passengers were using the line, which was good to see
Very nice to see the newly reopened Northumberland Line now opened to passengers. Perhaps Network Rail should extend it to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and from Newsham to Blyth. Plus with 2 more new stations added at Hepscott and Choppington on the Blyth and Tyne railway line from Morpeth. But anyways it’s nice to see the Northumberland Line now opened just before Christmas.
In addition, a far more important discovery (to me that is)….Haltwhistle has now had its refurbished waiting room opened, after 3, or more, years haggling over how to fix an access problem. We can now wait for Carlisle trains, protected from the wind and rain and snow, rather than in an exposed 3 sided glass aquarium.
Wow ... £298 million for 18 miles of track (+ infrastructure upgrades) that was already in freight use. A brown upgrade project, not a green ground up project.
Its a shame that im not aware of any main news body covering this. I live in wales but i think its fantastic that this money was paid and all these new stations are up and running, i really hope they'll be well used.
I remember when it used to run and the uproar when it was announced it was to close down, I don't suppose the waiting rooms have coal fires in them like they used to.
Two things: 1) Geoff, I think you need to decide whether you are a Southerner or Northerner and pick a pronunciation of Newcastle! LOL. 2) More Geoff and Tim Dunn colabs please!
Nice video Geoff. In my opinion for your next video, you should make a video about riding on the GWR's North Downs Line from Reading to either Redhill and Gatwick Airport via Guildford. And if you want to create a bus video, how about doing a video on either TfL bus route 465 which runs from Kingston to Dorking, leaving 22 miles away from London. Or do a video on TfL bus route 166 that runs from Croydon to Banstead and then to Epsom Hospital (1bph) on Mondays to Saturdays, but with no evening or Sunday service goes to Epsom Hospital.
Nice to see it reopen after all this time How wrong they were to close a lot of these lines That's why we've got so much traffic on the roads.lets hope they open up more closed lines from the sixties. 😊
I’d like you return to all the new stations you have covered, say after at least six months of operation, to report on what the station looks like and how busy it seems. Passenger numbers would be great to know although I guess you might have to wait for the end of year report.
The celebrations on arrival at Ashington is exactly what reopening our long lost rail routes should feel like, it's great!
loved the band playing Blaydon Races HWTL 🖤🤍
So many more lines to reopen, I hope the Ivanhoe Line between Burton and Leicester is next!
Midleton had this
That brass band is very Victorian, just like opening a station on the Liverpool and Manchester railway in 1830 (edit : William IV was King then, of course, so very pre-Victorian)
@@historyinfo-bites Would be interesting to know if there was a brass band on opening day in Ashington decades ago
It just goes to show how wrong it was in the Beeching days, to rip up all those lines rather than just moth ball them, but hindsight is another thing! Great Video, many wise words spoken by all!
Must be annoying living in one of these towns where the railway still physically existed but with no passenger services at all. Quite a few places all around the country like that as well. Places like Royal Wootton Bassett, Portishead and Marchwood/ Hythe in the south/ south west alone. This line still has a physical rail connection to Morpeth from both Ashington and Bedlington, so hopefully the potential is there for further expansions to the service and to further improve regional connectivity. The loss of such connectivity with nothing much to replace it was a massive mistake in the late 20th century, I think governments since then have really regretted it.
@pavo45 Beeching was correct at the time, Decisions made then cannot be judged as wrong with the passage of time...
Trains in 2024 are a scam on the consumer, a way to enrich a few at the taxpayers expense...
Who spent £200m? Explain how paying £6 return is not a scam?
As usual Geoff goes the extra mile and pops to bridge to show us viewing public the station from a distance this is why Geoff is the best at what he does❤. Love your videos Sir, of what is history you are collecting for us here on TH-cam
I expected the first train from Newcastle would be busy with other enthusiasts and it was; I was pleased and surprised to see so many locals waiting to board the first train from Ashington at 8 o'clock on a December Sunday morning. Not many people got off the next arrival, but it was reasonably busy when it departed at 09:36. We have been waiting for this (and the new Metro Class 555s) for a very long time, but it seems things really are getting better. (Just for once I didn't have to travel miles to take part in a railway event, I live just up the road from Newcastle Central 😀).
WHY DONT OVERGROUND EXTEND TO MERIDIAN WATER?
I got the first train to Ashington in the morning and saw much the same as you (came from Gateshead), bit of breakfast in the wetherspoons and second one back. Very noticeable how local the crowd back to Newcastle was.
Took some mildly enthusiast mates up the line later on in the day and again, it was practically full and standing on some of the early afternoon trains - met old friends and work colleagues purely by chance. You could tell how much it meant to people - especially with the fares being so reasonable in this not particularly affluent area...
Great great news for our region! Loved the band playing the Blaydon Races and the Northumberland flag waving! Really pleased this project has come to fruition and hopefully opens up more joined up transport in South East Northumberland/Newcastle/North East in general. #HowayTheTrains
I grew up next to this line. It closed when I was 10. Nowadays, traffic around Newcastle in the mornings and evenings can be awful. This will be a big help for people. There is already talk in the local press about extending the line to Newbiggin. There is also a freight line to Morpeth that can be brought back into passenger use. This is going to be a big success.
Massive benefit that you touched upon… integration with Tyne and Wear metro at Northumberland park and central station… AND Northumberland line is covered by the Pop card (including a new zone D). With “overland” main line routes like this being added the regional system is getting back up to the strength of the “Tyneside Electrics” of the early 20 century🤩
Brilliant video, Geoff. I live in Northumberland and I cannot wait to ride this line. It will be amazing for Ashington.
Hello, I was on this line today.
Got the first train of the day out of Newcastle!
I saw you!
@PieterCusters1983 Yeah you may of, I was with 4 of my friends. Would've had more but some couldn't come along.
My Wife works in a School in this area - some of the kids thought the Tyne Tunnel was a 'time tunnel,' most had never heard of it or had no idea what it was for. She's took them to Newcastle for pantomimes and such and they looked stunned as they got off the bus. A wild thing to be visiting a city only 20miles away. This is a game changer, its opened up opportunity for both the city and Northumberland. The bus system sucks - its takes too long during rush hour times. A huge congratulations to all involved, I can only imagine the persistance needed to get this over the line. Although, why has this taken 14 years from concept to opening (what is only half a project at this stage) during a time when we had a government rattling on about 'levelling up the north.' Again, congratulations to the team involved in making sure Nortumberland isnt forgotten about.
Hopefullly now more disused lines can get a passenger service (although ticket prices do have to improve first...)!
Unlikely......
Leamside line next for the north east I hope!
@@50upss I hope you're under 30 if you want to ride it......
Sadly the Waterside Line reopening has been killed by this government
Theres A Line Near Me That Spread Through The Whole Isle Of Grain
I love the idea of travelling on a Class 158 from Ashington to Stalybridge!
Been watching the trains all day from my bedroom window, knew you would be on one of them Geoff ;)
Edit: btw I’ve been seeing 4 unit trains all day, which makes me so happy
Hey Geoff, great to see this video i knew would be coming!
I was born in Blyth just over the river from Ashington and Lived there 24 Years. Reopening the line always seemed to get talked about but never got anywhere, to see it finally happen is amazing, even if i am now in North Yorkshire.
Newsham, which you did a video on the construction of, was a stone’s throw from my old house, and Bebside is also very familiar to me, can’t wait to see your videos when those stations open.
Got into your videos through my love of the tube and the railways, but never thought i’d see you at stations so near to my birthplace, but here we are, aren’t Railways Brilliant!
Thank You Geoff :)
thanks Craig !! very kind. i suspect i'll wait for the rest of all the stations on the line to open up now, before i go back ..
@ can’t wait Geoff. Can’t express enough how glad i am of your content, it is always done so well :)
Odd coincidences here, my Mum's side of the Family are Blyth born, in the Newsham area. I myself am a Yorkie, having recently moved down here for work from near Berwick. It always did strike me odd that Blyth had the freight, but no active station, growing up and visiting.
I was hoping you’d return for the opening. Such a great day to have the line reopen. It will open so many doors for people who can now easily get to Newcastle.
This is the message I keep hearing from people (mostly the council) but it's absolute nonsense.
People can already 'easily get to Newcastle" - buses have offered this forever, they're a bit slower but I doubt a quicker trip will tip many people out of their cars - maybe but I sorta doubt it
For proof of that - Metro offered a number of 'park and ride' stations - one of which is Northumberland Park (shortly to be added to this line) - the carpark there is ALWAYS empty - literally no-one uses it - once someone's in their car, they tend to just stay in their car
At least Ashington Station is in the town centre - Blyth's 2 stations are effectively "in the middle of fields" - they literally back-onto nothing - I'd argue neither is technically in "Blyth" - a case of "Penrith South Lakes" levels of nonsense...
@@dizzy2020well, thanks for your opinion. This line opening certainly helps someone like me who doesn’t drive or rather I can’t drive. I welcome your point of view however.
It's a bit annoying to pay loads of money to go on railtours to travel along these freight-only lines, only to have them reopened to passengers later.
Maesteg, Ebbw Vale, Ashington, etc etc!
Only kidding - great to see these reopenings. Hope they reopen to Newbiggin one day.
Then there's Pelaw to Washington...
Pelaw to Washington, yep that is the one they need to prioritize. Big prize to be gained there. The population of Washington has pretty much trebled since the original passenger service closed. If they could link it directly into Sunderland as well then that would be even better.
...or the Leamside, Durham line - where locals once sadly watched the lines being ripped up for weeks only to discover it was gangs theiving the track!!
@@michaelthompson3102 The Leamside line is the one from Pelaw through Washington to Ferryhill.
Railtours were a lot cheaper 30 years ago! Most are at least £100-£120 now, but often still more.
Pelaw to Washington and then connecting the Metro loop to South Hylton is the obvious one. But that is a big job, much bigger than the Northumberland line and without the large unserved population centres of the likes of Ashington and Seaton.
This is an emotional one as a Tyneside lad. Every train today seemed busy - you can say it's first day enthusiasts or christmas shoppers, but frankly most of the people on the trains especially into the afternoon were just making use of this great new facility. This is a game changer for a town that has had far too many setbacks in recent decades - if anything it will struggle to cope with the deluge of people who want to use it especially when Newcastle United play at home!!
And bravo Geoff for doing my home region justice, I've watched you since I was an actual kid, enjoyed so many of your videos when at uni not too far from London. To welcome you to our region is a privilege, and I hope you sample each of the line's stations, once it finally reaches completion hopefully in the next year or so...
thanks Patrick! kind words, thank you. I hope that it is indeed hugely used and a great success, and i'll be back when the other station open - yes!
Another Great Video. Thanks Geoff for your fantastic videos. Don't ever stop.
that's very kind Phil, thank you!
Geoff must be busy to upload these videos just all the editing takes him a long time so appreciate his content guys
Aw Wow Lovely Vid About The Northumberland Is Now Open Mr. Marshall
Absolutely mega to see you on my doorstep and give me a good look at the Northumberland line!
Great news that the fares are capped at £3.00. As a Senile Old Git who gets free bus travel I'd still pay £6.00 for a service I was reasonably certain would actually run and would take an hour or more off the round trip.
I've spent far too much time standing by the side of a road, looking at a bus app and eventually getting a cab because the last bus, due around 1730(!), simply didn't run.
I wish I lived in Ashington!
Good to have a new railway opening
This is what we need in the uk as railways are safer then driving and you can see wonderful scenery!
🚈🛤️🛤️
I notice Tim has managed to get away from the London Underground. I reckon you lot hunt in packs. Great vid thanks. Ah he even gets lines. Do you have to pay him now?
That is a secret. 😊
Great to see another line in Passinger Use again and more stations Reopened. With this and the New Stations opening. It gives you more Hooe for the future
8:00 OMG its TV's Tim Dunn! what a mega star to see there Geoff
Can you do a series of non-TfL bus services in London? Maybe start off with the LondonLine 702 then the RP1 Royal Parks service in Richmond Park?
weirdly enough, i am doing JUST that in the new year! Spoilers! a non-TfL bus, whom i'm spending the day with ...
( the RP1 is also another good shout, yes! )
Great news but why did it take so long to reinstate passenger services on a line that was being used for freight? And why has it cost over £200 million?
158s are quality trains.
Good to see them put to a new use.
Seaton Delaval sounds like the name of an old-fashioned Shakespearean actor.
Funny you should say that. Seaton Delaval Hall is about a mile from the station. It was designed by Vanbrugh who was a playwright as well as an architect, and the Delaval family was famous for putting on plays and other entertainments.
Like many of the aristocracy/landed gentry in England the name was French being De Laval.
An old fashioned Shakespearean actor who, in his later years, took a role in a 1970s TV sitcom that overshadowed the rest of his career, becoming all the public remembered him for.
I was there today on the Northumberland line. I took a trip down from Glasgow. Journey going was 2 class 156s coupled together from NCL to Ashington, the return was 2 158s. I was too late in arriving for the fanfare playing for the opening of the line at Ashington. What a crowd turned up. Once the new intermediate stations are opened in 2025, it will be great. I did not realise that this will be zone D on the Tyne and wear metro day ticket, or weekly and monthly tickets. Great video coverage 👍 👏
I travelled especially from London to come here. Loved it!
Great video, Geoff
Looking forward to other vids. (Like Colindale Stn reopening ~ 20th December).
wow thats fantastic, to go from no service at all to half hourly trains during the day and hourly off peak is great
Geoff, Great to see the video. Good to bump into you again at the station....positive football game for me down in Southend! Love the north east content.
So wonderful to see stations and lines coming back to life!
Thank you for the video Geoff, it was very interesting. 💕
How very British - Having a Band Playing on a new Opening of a Station!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂
Why does Ashington station have a platform number when it's the only platform? Not like you can get confused looking for platform 1
It's for the railways location identification......
Great to see, big population up there, i really hope it'll be a huge success. I remember when the freight lines at my hometown (Rugeley) became vacant and the Walsall - Rugeley line was reopened for passenger use. It's now electrified and really well used, well over 150,000 people reconnected to the network.
Hi Geoff
Why do new or refurbished stations not have level boarding? It’s great to see new stations being built but it is disappointing for people like myself who struggled to use trains when they have a gap and a height between the train and platform.
The standardised platform height is 915 mm to the best of my knowledge.
It would be level boarding if trains with doorway floors of that height were used, like the Stadler FLIRT trains used on Merseyrail, Greater Anglia and Transport for Wales - and, soon, the Tyne & Wear Metro.
What's needed is to make 915mm boarding height compulsory for all new trains operating only within Britain.
The Class 158s replacement must meet this requirement.
So basically, there is regulations for platform heights but just train manufacturers don’t follow them.
No.....its a new spec platform with a near 35 year old high floor train.....🤷♂️
If I'm going to be using a train with out level boarding, I always ask for assisted travel.
@@ianhudson2193 They knew what trains were going to to be used when they built the platforms - the argument of "but new trains will be the right height" is some grade A copium...
I remember going to Ashington in the 80s… I walked into a barbers and asked for a perm…. The barber said “ ah winderered lernly as a clood…”
I lived near Ashington for 25 years and if you didn't drive it was an hours' bus ride to Newcastle. This is a game changer.
Thank You Geoff! Excellent as always.
Great video Geoff
amazing to have new rail lines open, my only criticism would be the lack of electrification, though hopefully they've built it so it'll be easy to add in the future.
Can you have a look at the new Tyne and Wear metro class 555
Is that the first double arrow sign of the new GBR branding? It looks very different to BR station signs of old. Not sure if that logo is the new GBR dimensions or the old BR ones on a different surround?
Probably the new one? i personally can't tell the difference between them...
@davidty2006 It's VERY minor
A great day indeed - I'm happy this has finally come to fruition, although some of the other stations on the line won't open till later in 2025. I just hope the local population use it fully - if they don't, well, we all know where that ends up. I'd definitely use it to get to Northumberland Park, once that opens, as it might shave off 10-15 mins of getting there via the Metro.
Northampton Station Staff: “Here we go again!”
Silly question from a person living in Scandinavia, Sweden. Are there any plans to continue the traffic to either Morpeth or Widdrington on the main line to Scotland?
What I can see is there no station in Blyth, but would it be possible to reopen the line down to Blyth centrum/ harbour?
Also I am very impressed you saw Tim Dunn, famous for the BBC program of railway architecture.
I understand the need to build a new platfromatt Ashington, but it does feel relatively poorly integrated with the town, with no access to the east adn difficult access from the north. A footbridge would much immprove this and I can see this being included in the future, but would it not have been easier to do before the line opened!.
The new Newsham station is a bus ride away from Blyth town centre!!
That's nothing to Blyth - a larger town with TWO stations NEITHER of which is anywhere near the town so a bus ride is required to access them - and that bus likely goes to Newcastle anyway which begs the question "why would you get off and pay twice??"
The other thing to bear-in-mind is Blyth and Ashington are dying towns where people live only because they can't afford to live anywhere else - there's no jobs, no amenities, no reason for anyone to visit so this route exists purely to 'get people out of those towns' which is great IF you're going to Newcastle I guess...
I'm not sure what these access issues are at Ashington as the station is in the town center. Easily accessed on foot, bike, car and of course we can't forget horse and cart. Plenty of EV charging in the car park but it lacks stables.
As for the Newsham and Blyth stations... Try walking or cycling if you're physically able to. There's no need to get a bus.
Today's fun fact is where I live (Newbiggin) it'll be quicker for me to walk to Ashington Train Station to get to Newcastle than catching the X21.
12noon update on this line's first weekday - over 40 cars parked at Seaton Delaval where the 12:07 towards Ashington was about a third-full in its 2-car format & a few folk got off it with a few others getting on board.
Always good to see a new station being opened ☺️👏
Pedantry alert - I've spotted a typo on the timetable, second train from Ashington to Seaton Delaval would be arriving at 0648 I would have thought, not 0848 👍
Enjoyed your video on Northumberland line, had a ride on it today opening day, much better than the bus and they got destination right this time on front of train😅
It's just great the network's expanding again. Shame on those early 1960s decisions.
I wasn't there today, but I'm one of a slowly decreasing band who travelled from Ashington by rail before the station closed at the end of October 1964. My last trip was a return to Newcastle on 15th October '64, a Thursday, when we were given a day off school because the school was being used as a general election polling station. (Harold Wilson won). The old station, built in red brick with a glass and wrought iron canopy over the southbound platform was a delight to look at, with a welcoming coal fire burning in the waiting room to keep travellers toasted.
It's great they're opening new lines.
I do think it's a shame it isn't electrified.
An excellent overview of the re-opened line.
Big up Morpeth massive, great to see you up here Geoffers!
ps it’s Lyne-muth 👍
ha ha, yes! i was worried i'd got that wrong !!!
This is great, BUT…! It could’ve been so much better if it continued beyond Ashington round to the ECML, Pegswood and Morpeth before returning to Newcastle. Why couldn’t it have been worked as a loop service in both directions? Surely that would’ve made a lot of sense.
It really will be a game changer once open in full. But it already looked on Sunday that "regular" passengers were using the line, which was good to see
thanks Chris! sounds like its popular .... and just watching your video now!
How good a service that is, a big thumbs up 👍
They could have opened a week earlier! I was up there last weekend and had time on my hands on Monday, but no Ashington train. Went to Hexham instead.
You made the right decision!
Brilliant footage thank you
Amazing how they found train crew to work it on a Sunday. I guess it will soon be cancelled most weekends like other routes on the Northern network.
Three footballers living on same street in Ashington all won Professional Footballers of the Year . Bobby and Jackie Charlton and Jimmy Adamson 😊
Love the videos geoff
Very nice to see the newly reopened Northumberland Line now opened to passengers. Perhaps Network Rail should extend it to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and from Newsham to Blyth.
Plus with 2 more new stations added at Hepscott and Choppington on the Blyth and Tyne railway line from Morpeth. But anyways it’s nice to see the Northumberland Line now opened just before Christmas.
2:21 What was the advert where the woman says "Hey they've got a band!" ?
integrated ticketing is sooooo good
In addition, a far more important discovery (to me that is)….Haltwhistle has now had its refurbished waiting room opened, after 3, or more, years haggling over how to fix an access problem. We can now wait for Carlisle trains, protected from the wind and rain and snow, rather than in an exposed 3 sided glass aquarium.
Wow ... £298 million for 18 miles of track (+ infrastructure upgrades) that was already in freight use. A brown upgrade project, not a green ground up project.
A silver band is exactly how stations should be opened. Celebrations are definitely in order for the railway coming to town.
Bit quieter at both stations at 06.30! Nice video as ever, with a star-studded cast!
“Welcome to Ashington”… I’d just get straight back on mate
YESSSS!!!
A great thing for the North. It deserves to be celebrated
Its a shame that im not aware of any main news body covering this. I live in wales but i think its fantastic that this money was paid and all these new stations are up and running, i really hope they'll be well used.
The Guardian had a full article.
i managed to find a BBC news story : www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg4z1grpr12o
and i'm told that ITV news covered it too, with a short video piece
Yet another "station" that's spent most of it's budget on the massive car park
2:09 Name that Tune
Gannin along the Scotswood Roooaad.. to see the Blaydon Races ❤
I remember when it used to run and the uproar when it was announced it was to close down, I don't suppose the waiting rooms have coal fires in them like they used to.
You definitely made the right decision not to linger in Ashington!!
Two things: 1) Geoff, I think you need to decide whether you are a Southerner or Northerner and pick a pronunciation of Newcastle! LOL. 2) More Geoff and Tim Dunn colabs please!
Nice video Geoff. In my opinion for your next video, you should make a video about riding on the GWR's North Downs Line from Reading to either Redhill and Gatwick Airport via Guildford.
And if you want to create a bus video, how about doing a video on either TfL bus route 465 which runs from Kingston to Dorking, leaving 22 miles away from London. Or do a video on TfL bus route 166 that runs from Croydon to Banstead and then to Epsom Hospital (1bph) on Mondays to Saturdays, but with no evening or Sunday service goes to Epsom Hospital.
Need so many more lines to reopen in the NE, same in the NE of Scotland, both areas of their respective countries with disgracefully poor service.
Everything about this is wonderful apart from that unsightly totem! If it ain't broke don't fix it! 😅
It looked like you were surrounded by politicians on that trip. I do hope you didn’t catch anything.
Nice to see it reopen after all this time How wrong they were to close a lot of these lines That's why we've got so much traffic on the roads.lets hope they open up more closed lines from the sixties. 😊
Definate The Railway Children vibes from the brass band at the station ❤
Hope this line is as successful as the ebbw vale line my local line which is now very busy
Can we have an updated video on all proposed new station openings in 2025, please??
Ahhhh, missed you, damn it! Will you be coming back when the rest of the line opens?
£298 million to reopen a railway that was already open.
I’d like you return to all the new stations you have covered, say after at least six months of operation, to report on what the station looks like and how busy it seems. Passenger numbers would be great to know although I guess you might have to wait for the end of year report.
Nice to see Tim Dunn 😊
Ain't that the theme from ITV's TyneTees' "Northern Life" at 2:08?
I thought it was Blaydon Races, unless that was the theme tune to Northern Life?
@JonnyRowntree , used to be from the mid 70s to the early 80s.
Brilliant result...!
0:25 Is that a PPE suit?!
Seems more of a park and ride for rural northumbia.
I managed to get on the 3rd service today. Saw Jen