A £600,000 scheme, which would see work start on a new platform in early 2011, is expected to get the green light from Northumberland County Council's executive.

"We are thrilled to bits," said Geoff O'Connell, chairman of Belford Rail Users Group, which has been campaigning for the reopening of the station for over a decade. The scheme would allow passengers to board the train which already comes to Belford to turn around in the sidings for its once-a-day Chathill to Newcastle service.

"It's been an uphill struggle for more than 10 years, but it finally seems that common sense has prevailed," said Mr O'Connell, a parish and former borough councillor.

"There were times when we rolled the stone to the top of the hill and thought we'd nearly made it only for it to roll all the way back to the bottom again.

"We've had the 'ghost train' which has come into the station but we've only been able to look at it while it waited for 10 minutes because there was no platform.

"Now it looks like we're finally going to get it, as long as the executive agrees with the officers' recommendation, which is absolutely brilliant news for Belford."

It is planned to build the platform, along with an access road and car parking, on land next to the east coast main line at Coastal Grains.

Feasibility studies have been completed by Northumberland County Council and Network Rail and public consultation carried out in Belford has been extremely positive.

However, the scheme is still at an early stage and more studies, including ground investigations and land negotiations, are required before a detailed proposal can be finalised.

The proposed train service currently leaves Chathill at 7.11am, getting into Newcastle at 8.14am and returns at 5.15pm, getting into Chathill at 6.34pm.

"I'm sure there will be quite a lot of business people, college students and school children who would prefer to use it than travel down the extremely dangerous A1," said Mr O'Connell.

"It will also help bring more visitors to Belford, perhaps those who don't drive or want to enjoy a cycling holiday," he added.

He hoped that extra mid-morning and mid-afternoon trains could be laid on if the demand is there, and that an extension of the service to Berwick could be looked at.

He admitted: "We are shackled to some extent by the high speed east coast main line but I hope there would be the ability to find room for mid-morning or mid-afternoon services if it proves popular.

"The possibility of services up to Berwick could also be looked at. The sidings at Belford run on a loop - there are no buffers - so it could be feasible."

Mr O'Connell thanked Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith, Coun Pat Scott, Northern Rail, Network Rail, Martin Murphy of Railfuture Northeast and Richard Robson, executive director of place at Northumberland County Council, for their help and support in getting the project back on track.

The Belford scheme is part of a £1.5 million package of proposals which also includes improvements at Alnmouth, Morpeth and Cramlington stations. A further £900,000 is earmarked for a regional smart ticketing initiative.

The money, totalling £2.4 million, has been granted to the county council by the Department for Transport as part of its regional funding allocation.

Coun Alan Armstrong, executive member for highways and transport, said: "These four schemes will significantly improve access to rail services and stations for both residents and visitors to the area.

"For Belford in particular, this is a fantastic opportunity to link into the rail network and enable members of the public to travel to Newcastle by train.

"Improvements to a combination of walking, cycling, bus and rail facilities are helping people to use sustainable transport for as much of their whole door to door journey as possible.

"In a time when we are all trying to cut our CO2 emissions and use public transport more, this investment in transport facilities is certainly welcomed."