It’s been a busy week, starting with our well attended Community Meeting at Newbiggin on Monday (see below). Then on Thursday, a quick meeting at Morpeth with old friend and ally Paul Salveson, now working for Arriva Rail. Paul seemed very interested in our campaign for a north of Morpeth local service. Later that evening I gave a presentation on SENRUG to Doxford Place Methodist Church Men’s Group in Cramlington, again well attended. Then on Friday was the Rail North stakeholder briefing at Newcastle. Gerry Sothcott from the Cramlington Development Trust and I sat down with First Group to press the case for their new Edinburgh service (starting December 2019) to call at Cramlington. We then discussed with both First and Arriva the SENRUG plan to relocate Cramlington Station so that it’s right next to Manor Walks and integrated with a new bus station. Next action for these important Cramlington initiatives is to invite the key players to a briefing in Cramlington so we can present the case in more detail. Finally, on Saturday, I attended an excellent Railfuture North East Branch Meeting with guest speaker Tobyn Hughes, Managing Director (Transport Operations) at the North East Combined Authority (NECA). Tobyn gave an excellent talk, giving not only the history of the Metro system but also presenting a clear vision for further rail expansion, both Metro and heavy rail, in the North East. Delighted to note that Tobyn’s “vision slide” included not just the Ashington Blyth & Tyne line but also the Ashington – Stobswood section as well (as well as several schemes south of the Tyne). Finally, a chance meeting on the train home with Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery – a strong supporter of SENRUG – gave us a chance for a quick chat on the Ashington Blyth & Tyne re-opening campaign which genuinely does seem to be making progress.
