Northumberland Line – Possible Opening Date?

There’s still no official word from the Programme Board, however “Mr Awkward” has posted the following comment on one of my earlier posts: “Is Newsham station opening delayed again? The reason I ask is Ashington and Seaton Deleval are on the National Rail website, Newsham isn’t. You can look at journeys from Ashington to Newcastle from the 15 December and The Journey details show trains calling at Ashington and Seaton Delaval but not Newsham.” I find that a very reasonable question, not awkward at all. However, before we all get too excited about the possibility of passenger trains from Ashington starting from 15th December, I’d point out that whilst train times are now uploaded onto National Rail, fares are not, so it’s still not possible to buy a ticket. Some of us will remember that as the previous summer 2024 opening date approached, train times were posted on Realtime Trains – but then hastily removed a few days later. Nevertheless, I certainly think the current communication policy which seems to be say nothing at all needs to be re-examined. This close to the “December 2024” opening promise, we really should have a clear date and the ability to plan Christmas journey’s by train.