Passengers have made more than 2,000,000 journeys on the Northumberland Line, less than two years after it opened.

To celebrate the occasion, Northern staff have been handing out millionaire’s shortbread, made by a bakery in Ashington.

The 29km former freight line was reopened to passengers in December 2024. Six stations were built and more than 26km of track was renewed, although the opening of some stations was delayed by local problems.

Northern’s commercial and customer director Alex Hornby said: ‘It’s fantastic to see local communities making the most of the Northumberland Line, after they waited 60 years for a railway.

‘The line has been transformational for the area, providing people with quick, convenient and affordable transport.

‘We’re incredibly proud to hit the two million milestone within two years as there is a reason for each and every journey. We’re working hard to ensure we continue providing communities along the route with a reliable service that makes their lives easier and opens up new opportunities.’

Demand is still growing, and Northern has strengthened some units to provide more capacity. It is also looking to acquire another train for the line.

Northern was renationalised by the Conservative government in March 2020, after performance of the Arriva-run franchise had become unacceptable. At the time, RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘The return of Northern to the public domain should not be seen as a short term fix and a holding operation pending another punt on another bunch of private speculators. This has to be a permanent move.’

Rail minister Lord Hendy said: ‘I’m proud these services are being delivered by Northern, a publicly owned operator, focused on delivering for passengers as its number one priority.’

In the meantime, there have been calls for the rest of the former line to be reopened beyond Ashington to its original terminus of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

What do you think? Click here to let us know.