Late trains for those enjoying night on the town

The new Northumberland Line service allows people to travel back from Newcastle later each night

A new late service is being added to a rural train line for those wishing to enjoy a night in the city.

The Northumberland Line reopened in December last year and allowed passengers to travel from Ashington to Newcastle for the first time in 60 years.

Twelve months on, Northern Rail is to launch a late train which will leave the city at 23:21 GMT on Mondays to Saturdays beginning on 15 December. Services on Sunday will be extended to the Metrocentre station.

Northern's programme manager Paul Henry said passengers had told the company they wanted to spend longer in Newcastle city centre.

"There have been a lot of calls for a later service and a direct link to the Metrocentre, so we have worked really hard to make that happen," he said.

As well as the additional departure, the existing 22:16 train will be pushed back to 22:23.

Trains currently call at Newcastle, Manors and new stations in Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside and Ashington, with work continuing to open stops at Northumberland Park and Bedlington.

Northumberland County Council said the number of passengers traveling with peak-time or season tickets had risen by almost 50% between April and September.