Northern made one of its trains from Newcastle into a ‘winter wonderland’ on Thursday (14 December).

More than sixty children from nearby schools and the families of Northern staff travelled on the festive train decorated with tinsel. Santa Claus travelled with them, delivering presents to the children with help from his elves.

The service travelled along the new Northumberland Line, which will return passenger trains to service between Ashington and Newcastle as part of the government’s Restoring Your Railways project. The project with introduce six stations on the line – Northumberland Park, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington and Ashington – and will upgrade eighteen miles track, signaling and other infrastructure.

Northern will operate passenger services on the line when it opens next year, and is currently developing a timetable to suit local communities and have a positive impact on the region. Last month, the operator began training conductors to work on the new line.

Kerry Peters, regional director at Northern, said: “We wanted to spread some much-needed joy this Christmas with our Santa Express and let residents – and Father Christmas – get a glimpse of the new route.

“It was a special day, and the children and residents were able to see the line they will be travelling on and enjoy in the near future.”