Rail minister backs plans for additional carriages on the Northumberland Line

The rail minister has thrown his weight behind calls to bring in permanent additional carriages on the Northumberland Line. More than 900,000 journeys have been made on the reopened rail line since it opened last December, prompting calls for greater capacity.

However, operator Northern has said this is “challenging” due to the number of carriages available in the company’s fleet. Northern has temporarily allocated rolling stock from other routes as a short-term fix, but Rail Minister Lord Hendy has now instructed the operator to look for a permanent solution.

Northumberland County Council leader Coun Glen Sanderson said the Conservative-led administration at County Hall would keep the pressure on the Government and the rail companies to bring in more carriages.

Coun Sanderson said: “I wrote to the Government expressing our concerns and I was pleased to receive a letter from Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, the Minister for Rail, who paid tribute to the vital role the Council played in bringing this transformative project to fruition.

“Lord Hendy says he entirely takes our point about the need for more capacity on the line, and while Northern has strengthened some services on a temporary basis by reallocating stock from other routes, he says officials at Rail North Partnership have now instructed Northern to identify whether any permanent reallocations are possible.

“It’s important we keep the pressure up on Government and Northern to ensure they are doing absolutely everything they can to provide additional carriages where required on this service.

“The Northumberland Line has been an unprecedented success, improving not just travel but people’s lives, and we must ensure the right level of service is there to support the demand as it continues to expand.”

In the letter to Coun Sanderson, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Lord Hendy wrote: “I entirely take your point about the need for more capacity on the line. Northern has strengthened some services on a temporary basis by reallocating stock from other routes.

“My officials at Rail North Partnership (RNP) have now instructed Northern to identify whether any permanent reallocations are possible. Northern is also in discussions with other operators to see what suitable rolling stock they may have available to increase capacity ahead of Northern’s new train fleet entering service in 2030.”

The number of journeys on the line was around double the 400,000-500,000 expected in the first year of the line’s reopening. That is despite the fact that two stations – Bedlington and Northumberland Park – are not due to open until the New Year.

The success of the line has also seen ambition to extend the railway north to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea increase. The county council has submitted a bid for funding from the North East Combined Authority to begin work on the extension.

On the additional carriages, a spokesman for Northern said: “We are closely monitoring demand and bring in additional carriages when possible, to provide more seats and space for our customers.

“But this is challenging as we have a limited number of carriages in our fleet, which are needed to run more than 2,650 services a day across the North of England.

“Limited capacity at Newcastle station can also prevent us from running longer services at certain times of the day. We are exploring all available options and working with industry partners to address these issues and increase capacity.”