Northumberland County Council has agreed to assist the Aln Valley Railway in Alnwick to extend its rail line and expand its tourism offer in the town. 

 

The county council has agreed to repair and adopt a bridge which is crucial to the expansion plans of the Aln Valley Railway Trust which is working towards the ultimate aim of extending the track from Alnwick to Alnmouth Station. 

 
The Trust is wanting to continue laying track past Eden Hill Bridge which is currently owned by The Historic Railways Estate (part of Highways England). However, the Estate won't allow the passage of trains under the bridge as it would impose maintenance obligations and costs onto them.  

 

To overcome this hurdle and assist the popular tourist attraction , the county council, as the highways authority, has agreed adopt the bridge which has an unclassified road (U3203) running over it and to repair the bridge so that it can then give consent to the railway to lay track and ultimately operate trains under the bridge. 

 

To bring this masonry arch bridge up to adoptable standards will cost in the region of £255k. One of the main areas of work that is needed is to install a waterproofing concrete overslab to eliminate the current water ingress. Extensive repointing together with masonry repair works are also needed on the bridge arch. 

 

The Historic Railways Estate have agreed to contribute £130k and the county council will contribute £125k. 

 

A spokesperson for Northumberland County Council said: 

 

“This is a scheme we really wanted to support given the wider economic growth, tourism and leisure benefits the expansion will bring to the town.” 

  

As well as the current heritage rail line which departs from Lionheart Enterprise Park in Alnwick, there is a cafe, a play area and a well-used walking and cycle route that runs parallel to the track.