The SENRUG Committee currently comprises of:

Dennis Fancett : Chair
John Earl : Secretary
Colin Patmore : Treasurer
Coral Patmore : Membership Secretary

This committee serves until the next AGM when all posts are reviewed and opened for election.

Dennis Fancett
Chairman

Dennis grew up on the border of South East London and Kent and commuted into London daily for over 25 years. He joined RailFuture, and was soon asked to take on the responsibility for RailFuture's South East London division. In this capacity he established a regular liaison with the local train operator as well as being in contact with managers from Railtrack [now Network Rail], London Undeground Ltd and Docklands Light Railway.

He also became a member of the London Borough of Bexley's Local Agenda 21 Transport and Traffic Focus group and in that capacity he presented a paper on low cost public transport improvements in the borough to the bus and train operators and related parties. Almost all of Dennis's suggestions were subsequently adopted, including the introduction of a completely new passenger train service between Crayford and Slade Green, which, Dennis had pointed out, could be introduced at virtually no cost through the utilisation of existing empty stock movements.

He has also been interviewed on local and national radio about train services from a passenger's perspective, and shortly after the virtual collapse of rail services nationwide in 2000, Dennis was invited to be the subject expert on public transport in a television question and answer session with the Prime Minister, which was broadcast live to 8 million viewers. ["Ask Prime Minister", ITV network, 12/12/00]. "I was very nervous about the experience, but found it extremely worthwhile. I was given a chauffeur driven car back home but throughout the journey the mobile didn't stop ringing from journalists and radio stations wanting follow-up interviews. I never realised things would develop so quickly", he later commentated.

Dennis held a senior management position with a large multi-national company for many years and travelled extensively on business - by train where possible, but in October 2003 he moved to South East Northumberland to help establish County Church which is a new Christian Church being started in the region. He works on a voluntary basis for the Church part time and is looking to supplement this with other suitable employment.

John Earl
Secretary

John is a teacher at a local High School, but has been a "railway nut" since his formative years in Derbyshire, when travelling to school on the train gave him a taste for such experiences.

He is a volunteer for the Tanfield railway, which has given him a wide range of experiences with railway infrastructure from putting steam engines together to constructing track and renovating Victorian carriages.

He also writes a quarterly column for the Midland Railway Society called "Events and Developments on former Midland lines", which requires him to be very well informed on all aspects of the present-day railway scene.

As a member of two further line societies, the North Eastern Railway Association and the Cumbrian, John is keen on the prospects of renovating old branch lines, but will settle for those that seem close to becoming a possibility, such as the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne.