Welcome to Railfuture North East
We are campaigning to improve and develop rail services in the North East of England.
We cover the local authority areas within the Tees Valley, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Northumberland
Our Current Activities
Railfuture North East supports, and actively participates in, local campaigns to develop the rail system. The current campaigns in which we take a particular interest are listed further down on this page, with links to other pages that report on the latest news for each campaign. We also take the opportunity to comment on plans for changes to timetables and keep a careful eye on the plans and strategies for public transport as they are developed by our local and transport authorities. If take every opportunity to try to influence the content of these plans as they are developed and before they are ‘set in concrete’.
The Branch Committee worked with Transport North East and a range of local groups to develop a North East Rail and Metro Strategy. The 150 page plan has been agreed by the North East Joint Transport Committee and, in part as a result of our comments a shorter and more "user friendly" version of the report is said to be on the way. In general we are supportive of the plan that has taken on board many of the ideas proposed by local campaigners. However we think that the plan has missed out some important issues including the need for a clear outline of the local services that will be on offer once the plan becomes reality.
Railfuture North East supports, and actively participates in, local campaigns to develop the rail system. The current campaigns in which we take a particular interest are listed further down on this page, with links to other pages that report on the latest news for each campaign. We also take the opportunity to comment on plans for changes to timetables and keep a careful eye on the plans and strategies for public transport as they are developed by our local and transport authorities. If take every opportunity to try to influence the content of these plans as they are developed and before they are ‘set in concrete’.
The Branch Committee worked with Transport North East and a range of local groups to develop a North East Rail and Metro Strategy. The 150 page plan has been agreed by the North East Joint Transport Committee and, in part as a result of our comments a shorter and more "user friendly" version of the report is said to be on the way. In general we are supportive of the plan that has taken on board many of the ideas proposed by local campaigners. However we think that the plan has missed out some important issues including the need for a clear outline of the local services that will be on offer once the plan becomes reality.
Upcoming Events
Railfuture North East AGM: Saturday 22nd March 2025 at 2pm.
To be held at Brunswick Methodist Church, Brunswick Place, NE1 7BJ.
Speaker: David Armstrong, Performance Manager of CrossCountry Trains with 'Rail's Future In Our Region', an overview of some of the current issues affecting passenger operations in our region.
20th Annual General Meeting of Railfuture Ltd: Saturday 5th July 2025 starting at 11am, with registration from 10am and free refreshments from 10:30.
To be held at: Great North Museum: Hancock, Barras Bridge, Newcastle, NE2 4PT
Recent Events
Branch AGM:The Branch Annual General meeting was held at 2:00 pm on Saturday 11th May 2024 in the upstairs Conference Room at Newcastle Arts Centre on Westgate Road in Newcastle. The speaker was Councillor Martin Gannon, chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, who talked about, amongst other topics, the re-opening of the Leamside Line.
Wednesday 16th October 2024: Regional branch members' open meeting, with guest speaker Jason Wade, Regional Director, Northern Rail. Venue: Westgate Arts Centre, 67 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SG. 19:00. Members and non-members welcome.
North East Campaigns
Our campaigns, working with our local Rail User Groups, are:
The Northumberland Line (Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Line). For more details see RfNE: The Northumberland Line (Updated December 2024)
New Station at Ferryhill - Further details at Ferryhill Station (updated July 2022).
New Station at Gilsland - Further details at Gilsland Station (updated July 2022).
New Station at Team Valley - Further details at New Station at Team Valley - (updated July 2022).
New Railway Ferryhill to Pelaw (Leamside Line) Further details at Leamside Line (updated March 13 2023).
Faster Journey times between Teesside and Tyneside (Stillington Line) - Further details at Faster Journeys between Teeside and Tyneside (UpdatedJuly 2022)
ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service. Further details at RfNE: ECML Newcastle and Berwick Local Rail Service (updated February 2025).
Local Links
South East Northumberland Rail Users Group - http://www.senrug.co.uk
Saltburn Line Users Group - https://en-gb.facebook.com/saltburnlineusergroup/
Coastliners – The Users group for the Durham Coast Line - http://www.necoastliners.co.uk
Tyne Valley Rail Users Group - https://tvrug.org.uk
Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Users Group - Mainly Bus and Metro - http://www.twptug.org.uk
The branch also supports the work being undertaken in our region by the AVR (Aln Valley Railway), Weardale Railway, Campaign for Borders Rail and the Wensleydale Railway.
A full list of Rail user groups in the North East are shown on Railfuture's Regional list list of groups which can be downloaded in PDF format.
Newsletter
View our latest and previous branch newsletters.
NE branch dashboard
See the full dashboard for NE branch.
Contact
Secretary: ian.walker at railfuture.org.uk or at 47 Park House Gardens, Sherburn Village, Durham DH6 1DU
Railfuture -Britain's leading independent campaign for a better passenger and freight rail network
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