Work begins to reopen former rail line to walkers

The track bed has not been touched since the last train passed over it 71 years ago

Work has begun to reopen a section of a railway which closed 71 years ago.

Diggers have begun clearing ditches and taking the path back to the original track bed on the Alnwick to Cornhill line in Northumberland.

The line opened in 1887 but served sparsely populated rural areas and was never profitable or well-used, finally closing in 1953.

It is hoped the first section of the line will reopen as a greenway for walkers and cyclists by summer 2024.

The Alnwick to Cornhill line in Northumberland was opened to much fanfare but it was never well used and never made a profit

Colin Davidson, chair of the Borderline Community Interest Company which is working to bring it back into public use, said seeing diggers at work was "just tremendous".

"We've waited such a long time to get something physical happening on the line and we've cleared 400 metres already," he added.

The ditches are full of leaf mould which means much of the track is very wet and boggy

The long term aim would see the whole of the old line from Alnwick to Cornhill reopened as a greenway suitable for walkers, cyclists, horses, pushchairs and wheelchairs.

The work is taking the path back to the original track bed under decades of leaf mould and dirt

It would also connect with Route 1 of the National Cycle Network creating a 100-mile (170km) loop through north Northumberland, encouraging cyclists to explore more of the county rather than just staying on the coast.

Work is going on either side of the gap at Greensfield which will be replaced by a new bridge

The next step is to replace a bridge that has been removed at the start of the line at Greensfield, Alnwick.

It is currently being built in Salford in Greater Manchester at a cost of £15k and it is hoped it will be installed by August 2024.

Mr Davidson knows there was still "a very long way to go".

"But just to get this far is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the determination of a very small group of people," he said.

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