Thousands of school children have been taught how to stay safe on the new Northumberland Line.
The line will reopen to passengers – for the first time in 60 years – following the completion of a £298.5m project involving the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Northumberland County Council and Northern.
Freight services already use the 18-mile line, which runs between Newcastle and Ashington, and Northern is now running trains on a regular basis as part of its traincrew training programme.
Northern, Network Rail, the construction contractors Morgan Sindall, Northumberland County Council (NCC) and Nexus have visited almost all of the schools in a two-mile radius of the route over the last year, to teach pupils how to stay safe on the railway.
They have spoken to more than 14,000 children about the dangers of trespassing on a busy railway line – where trains weighing more than 400 tonnes travel at speeds of up to 75mph – and explained that anyone who is caught can be fined £1,000.
The pupils have also been warned that throwing or firing objects at trains can put the safety of everyone on board at risk and told that police officers use drones and covert cameras to catch offenders.
Jason Wade, regional director for Northern, said: “It’s fantastic to see the pupils have responded so well to these sessions and many of them understand that trespassing on the railway can have devastating consequences.
“The Northumberland Line is now far busier than it has been for the last 60 years, as our drivers are operating services between Newcastle and Ashington on a regular basis as part of their training programme.
“We want everyone in the area to remain safe on the railway, by keeping well away from the track and taking extra care when using one of the level crossings.”
Councillor Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "Safety will always be the absolute priority for everyone using or living near the line.
"There's been a massive effort to reach out to schools, with thousands of children getting information about the dangers of the line - and we'll continue to keep driving home these vital messages as we head towards opening and beyond."
When the line opens, Northern will run two daytime services an hour from Monday to Saturday and one train per hour in the evenings and on Sundays.
A journey along the entire route will take around 35 minutes and a single fare will cost no more than £3. Click here for ticketing prices.
The first stations to open will be Ashington, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Manors and Newcastle.
Stations in Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park are under construction and due to open for customers next year.
Northern has also worked with Nexus, the public body which runs Tyne and Wear Metro and Northumberland County Council to provide integrated fares for multi-modal journeys.
Customers will be able to seamlessly switch between Metro and Northern services by using the North East’s successful Pop ‘Pay As You Go’ payment system to purchase smart fares.
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