[1] Proposals to reintroduce passenger rail services to the currently freight-only section of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway system have been discussed since the 1990s.

[2][3][4] In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council became interested in the proposals, commissioning Network Rail to complete a GRIP 1 study to examine the best options for the scheme in June 2013.

[6] The GRIP 2 study, published in October 2016, confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day a week passenger service between Newcastle, Ashington and possibly a new terminus to the east, at Woodhorn, was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034.

[7] Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections[8] the authority continued to develop the project,[9] encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail, which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services.

Phase 1 (at an estimated cost of £90 million)[14] would have seen Bedlington station reopened as the penultimate stop for hourly passenger trains[13] on the Newcastle to Ashington Northumberland Line, while later phases would have added additional stations and the infrastructure upgrades required elsewhere on the line[15] to provide a half-hourly frequency.

[20] The allocation of a further £34 million of UK Government funding for the project in January 2021 enables the necessary land to be purchased, detailed designs to be prepared and some early preparatory and site works to begin.

[32] The council has been conferred certain additional powers deemed necessary for the new stations to be constructed and the line upgraded to carry regular passenger services.