Extra carriages for rail line's peak-time

The Northumberland Line has been a huge success, council chiefs say

Extra carriages will be put on for a rail line's peak-time services due to demand being significantly higher than anticipated.

More than 700,000 passenger journeys have been made on the Northumberland Line, between Ashington and Newcastle, since it reopened last December.

Among the busiest times are around Newcastle United home fixtures with fans flocking from south-east Northumberland.

The county council said the line has been a "phenomenal success" and further demand is expected with Blyth Bebside's station opening on Monday.

Train operator Northern has already put some additional carriages on the most popular services and will continue to monitor capacity.

There are, however, some practical difficulties as there is a nationwide shortage of suitable carriages.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council leader Glen Sanderson said: "What we have seen is a real need for extra capacity on the line, which is something nobody really foresaw when we picked this up.

"It is a testament to the success of the line that we need more carriages for people."

Two further stations - Bedlington and Northumberland Park - are set to open next year.

That follows the county council, government and the North East Combined Authority providing an additional £37.9m to ensure work is completed following a number of engineering challenges.

There are also hopes the line could be extended with towns such as Newbiggin-by-the-Sea mooted as possible stops.

The original line was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts, which saw the nation's rail network significantly restructured.