Northern has unveiled a new facility that staff will use when trains begin operating on the Northumberland Line.

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The depot, situated at Ashington Station, will accommodate the nine conductors and a Conductor Team Manager who will be based there, along with drivers who require a brief break between services. 

Northern chose Ashington as the location because it is a terminus station that provides a natural starting and finishing point for staff shifts.

The depot comprises two cabins that were installed by contractors McAvoy, and is located near the southern end of the platform in its own secure compound, with access to the station car park.

The cabins contain a rest room and a locker room with its own toilets and showers. There is also a facility for signing on to safety and operational notices and a store where conductors can collect and return equipment at the end of each shift.

Bad weather has hampered work to a certain extent in recent months, but drier weather is now making working easier at the various sites and so Northern are making solid progress on this ambitious project.

The final touches are now being made at Ashington and a new road bridge at Newsham is nearing completion.

When the line re-opens in late 2024, customers will pay less than £3 for an off-peak single fare for the full line from Ashington to Newcastle. This shows Northern’s determination to make fares on the route extremely affordable.

There are also some extra pricing and booking initiatives :

• Customers will optimise value if they combine peak and off-peak tickets.
• Fares for customers aged 21 and under will start from £1 for a single ticket. 
• Northern has also worked with Nexus, the public body which runs Tyne and Wear Metro, and Northumberland County Council to provide integrated fares for mixed journeys.
• Customers can switch seamlessly between Metro and Northern services by using the North East’s successful ‘Pay As You Go’ payment system to purchase smart fares.

We’re working hard to ensure our staff have everything they need to run services and connect communities along the Northumberland Line.  

We will provide a timetable that will allow people of all ages to get where they need to go for a low cost, whether they are travelling to school, commuting to work or heading for a fun day out.

Jason Wade, regional director for Northern