Northumberland Line services will make ‘massive difference’ to locals, say conductors training to work on the line

The conductor training programme is well underway as Northern is getting ready to operate trains on the line when it reopens to passengers in December – for the first time in 60 years – following a £298.5 million redevelopment.

Northern will run two daytime services an hour from Monday to Saturday and one train per hour in the evenings and on Sundays​, allowing people to travel for work, school and leisure activities.

A journey along the entire route will take around 35 minutes and a single fare will cost no more than £3, while the maximum return fare will be £6.

The train operator has recruited 18 new conductors, who will be based at depots in Newcastle and Ashington, but there is a plan to ensure 82 are qualified to work on the line.

The new recruits need to undergo three months of intensive training, learning how to assist customers and keep them safe, sell tickets, manage disruption and deal with emergencies.

They are then required to do at least four trips along the new 18-mile line in Northumberland and gain an in-depth knowledge of the route.

Lee Cooper, lead conductor team manager in Newcastle, said: “Everyone is really excited about the line opening. This is a game changer for the area and I know a lot of people are talking about it.”

Martin Bowes, one of the first conductors to complete the training, said: “When I moved to Blyth 18 years ago they were talking about reopening the line and a lot of people thought this would never actually happen.

“But we’re about to begin running services and I feel privileged to be a part of it, because it will make a massive difference to people in the area.

“It will open a lot of doors to people in places like Ashington, as they will be able to get into Newcastle in just over 30 minutes.”

It comes after Brian Terry, from Walker in south-east Newcastle, became the first train driver to complete the training programme on the new Northumberland Line in September. 

Northern recently recruited 20 new drivers to work on the line and there is a plan to ensure more than 100 are trained to safely operate these services.  

The rail line, which has only been used by freight trains in recent years, will open to passengers following the completion of an ambitious project involving the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Northumberland County Council and Northern.

Northern has introduced a simplified single-leg pricing structure to make sure customers using the Northumberland Line can always find the cheapest option for their journey. It means they can buy a single ticket for half the price of a return.

The train operator has worked with Nexus, the public body which runs Tyne and Wear Metro and Northumberland County Council to provide integrated fares for multi-modal journeys.

Customers will be able to seamlessly switch between Metro and Northern services by using the North East’s successful Pop ‘Pay As You Go’ payment system to purchase smart fares.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.