Beal railway station

55°40′37″N 1°54′10″W / 55.6769°N 1.9029°W / 55.6769; -1.9029Grid referenceNU062426Platforms2Other informationStatusDisusedHistoryOriginal companyYork, Newcastle and Berwick RailwayPre-groupingNorth Eastern RailwayPost-groupingLNER
British Rail (North Eastern)Key dates29 March 1847 (1847-03-29)Opened29 January 1968 (1968-01-29)Closed

Beal railway station, also known as Beal for Holy Island railway station, was a railway station that served the village of Beal, Northumberland, England from 1847 to 1968 on the East Coast Main Line.

History

The station opened on 29 March 1847 by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. It was situated just under a mile along the Holy Island Road which runs from the A1 to Holy Island. There was no footbridge or subway so the passengers had to switch between platforms via a level crossing. A large stone-built goods warehouse was provided to the northwest of the station which was entered via one of the two sidings. In 1941, Beal was one of the few stations to remain open during the period of the Second World War, the others being Alnmouth, Chathill, Tweedmouth and Belford. The goods warehouse was demolished sometime after British Rail formed. The station closed on 29 January 1968.^[1][2]

The local rail user group SENRUG has been campaigning since September 2016 to have local services on the Newcastle - Berwick - Edinburgh corridor increased with regular local commuter services extended northwards from Morpeth to Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. As part of this campaign they have proposed that the former station at Beal should be reopened so as to improve public transport access to Lindisfarne and St Cuthbert's Way.^[3]

References

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Smeafield Line open, station closed		York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway East Coast Main Line		Goswick Line open, station closed