The Newcastle and Berwick Railway opened in 1847, bringing to an end the era of mail coaches on the Great North Road. The branch line from Alnmouth to Alnwick was completed in 1850. The original Alnwick station was very modest, but a new, enlarged station building was opened in 1887, at the same time as the line from Alnwick to Cornhill. Passenger services to Cornhill were stopped in 1930, with the line finally closed for all traffic in 1953. The Alnmouth-to-Alnwick branch survived until 1968.