Pegswood railway station

The station was opened by the NER in 1903 (to serve the nearby village and colliery), more than 50 years after the line itself.[1] The station was twice threatened with closure after nationalisation - firstly in 1958 and again in 1966 during the Beeching cuts, but was reprieved each time. Until 1968 it was served by through trains to Alnwick,[2] whilst a handful of through services (on average 3-4 each way per day) to and from Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh Waverley continued to call right up until the late 1980s. However, the electrification of the line led to these being cut back to Berwick; they were further cut (and reduced in frequency to the present residual level) by British Rail in May 1991 due to a shortage of rolling stock. The local rail user group (SENRUG) has been running a campaign to improve service levels here and at neighbouring Widdrington since September 2016.[3]

On Mondays to Saturdays a train starting at Chathill makes its way southbound through Northumberland providing a commuter service to Newcastle Central. It calls at Pegswood at 07.52 and runs through to Prudhoe. This service is typically provided by a diesel multiple unit (DMU), normally a Class 156. There is a balancing northbound service between Newcastle and Chathill (departing Newcastle at 05:55) but it is limited stop and does not call here, Widdrington or Acklington.

A second southbound train calls at 19.48 on weekdays or 20.03 on Saturdays – this service is the return working of the train which made its way northbound through the village earlier in the evening (see below). This continues beyond Newcastle through to Carlisle.[4]

On Mondays to Fridays a train from Newcastle at 17.56 (18:03 on Saturdays) reaches Pegswood at 18.21 (18:28 on Saturdays), having called at Manors, Cramlington, and Morpeth. From Pegswood, the local train continues to Widdrington, Acklington, Alnmouth, and Chathill. The train continues out of service to Belford, where it waits in a siding for other trains to pass, before returning to Chathill to form the southbound evening run through Northumberland. Like the morning run, this train is typically composed of a DMU.

No services call either way on Sundays.

A bench and shelter are located on the southbound platform. Tickets are purchased on board the train. Owing to the cant of the track through the station, the step up into the train from the southbound platform is substantial. There are no facilities at all on the northbound platform other than a station name sign and a timetable poster board. A telephone kiosk, letter box, shop, and bus stop are all within a couple of minutes walk of the station. Step-free access is available to both platforms.[5]

Media related to Pegswood railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Morpeth		Northern Trains East Coast Main Line Mondays-Saturdays only		Widdrington
	Historical railways
Morpeth Line and station open		North Eastern Railway York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway		Ashington Colliery Junction Line open, station closed