Dates for your diary:

+	Thursday 17th July, 19.30 : Public Meeting @ Morpeth Methodist Church, Howard Terrace, Morpeth
	With speaker David Franks, Managing Director of National Express East Coast.

+	21 March 2008 Minutes of SENRUG committee meeting, 11.02.08
	MEETING OF SENRUG COMMITTEE, 11.02.08 Present: Dennis Fancett, (Chair), John Earl (Secretary), Ken Allott, Trevor Watson, Colin Patmore, Adrian King, Ronald Hunt, John Brierley. Minutes agreed. Dennis – thanks to Adrian for alerting us to the grant possibilities for the ABT trip, and for steering us through it. Dennis had called the committee as soon as he knew that we had the grant, but was hoping it was not premature as he had not yet heard from Northern about the arrangements. He reiterated that we had asked for three trips around the system, preferred route Morpeth-Newcastle-Ashington-Choppington-Morpeth. Have allowed six hours, which means that the train crews can do it without needing a statutory break. Trevor felt that if any layover time was necessary however, they could use the siding at Morpeth. Suggested times 9a.m., 10.30 and 12.00 ( the first one was for visiting dignitaries primarily). Timing will be tight, and the contingency was that they would do two trips if they could not do three. We have agreed to use the Wansbeck logo. Booking Process. Adrian wondered whether the papers would help with free publicity. Calculated 160 tickets per train. Some discussion about reservations, and on the whole we thought this would be a good idea, but Dennis would need to ask Northern about a seating plan. Trevor – what if, as sometimes happens, the tour has to be cancelled due to track problems or anything? Dennis – failsafe is taking addresses for all tickets. Colin offered to process tickets, and would provide his address for postal orders – after some discussion we also agreed that it would be a good idea to have outlets in towns on the route. John would try Morpeth, Colin would try Ashington, and Dennis Bedlington. Ronald agreed to have the tickets printed, and suggested different coloured card for different trains to save confusion. Agreed we needed volunteers on the train doors to make sure people do not get on the wrong train and to answer questions. We needed to make clear that tickets are Morpeth-Morpeth. People may board at other stations, but the seats would only be to Morpeth, where the train would start and finish. Extended discussion on pricing ended with a vote - £6 for adult, £4 for children. Name of train: Ashington Future. VIP train –would have a trolley service (provided kindly by Northern). Who to invite? Dennis would find out Wansbeck wards to ask councillors. Then there was the Northumberland County Council, Blyth, Morpeth, Bedlington, MP`s, Senntri, NE Assembly, GONE, Nexus, and possibly Tom Harris of the DfT. Also Wansbeck Hospital, Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland College, and the press. Q. Does Wansbeck have an official photographer? Publicity – we were going to produce a colour leaflet to hand out on the day, with a map of the whole line and commentary on points of interest. We would use the Graphics firm who had done the exhibition map so well for free. Some discussion of what we wanted on it. Did we want to say anything about the opening phases for the future? Richard agreed to design tickets and posters. Adrian mentioned that we could get into In Touch magazine, which went to every house in Wansbeck. Peripherals – Ronald asked could we have a colliery band playing at Ashington to add to the event? People thought it would be a good idea if it could be arranged. Ronald would look into it. Volunteers to steward asked for, and the committee agreed to provide these – Ronald kindly volunteered to produce name badges. Other concerns. Welcome expressed for news that Morpeth was on DfT list for level access, but some doubt as to a timetable – some thought the money was for a feasibility study only, and that the project itself might be a long time coming. We agreed to keep a watching brief, anyway. Some discussion of National Express timetable proposals –some felt this was positive, allowing for earlier meetings in London, others not. Trevor thought that the earlier train left a big gap between 7 and 8 o`clock, then there was a CrossCountry train five minutes later. Could Northern or CrossCountry fill the gap? Dennis asked for more information on National Express, and wondered whether the kind of meeting that had just been held at Alnmouth RUG was the sort of thing we should be doing – all three rail companies at a question and answer session. John Brierley, who had been there, said initially he had thought so, but on reflection the floor had been dominated by some points that the assembled company could not really throw much light on, which led to some expertise on the panel being under-used, and he felt that in some ways the discussion was unbalanced. We agreed that it was a format we could look at in the longer term, but that on the whole at present it was more important for us to establish a proper relationship with the companies who were only now just becoming established, which meant giving them a single platform and answering questions on their own behalf. However, John did feel that there were lessons for us from the format of the meeting, e.g. the care taken to get names and addresses at the door of people who might join the membership later. Agreed to follow this up. Date of next meeting. We agreed to defer arranging this until we had heard back from Northern about dates for the ABT trip, when there would be further details to discuss. John Earl, Secretary, March 2008
+	03 January 2008 Christmas Newsletter
	SUNDAY SPECIALS TO RUN AGAIN! Northern Rail has announced they will again be running a Sunday service in the run up to Christmas, for the benefit of those Christmas shopping at Newcastle or MetroCentre. Don’t forget parking at Morpeth and Cramlington is free and there is plenty of space on Sundays. There have been recent reports of all the car parks at MetroCentre being full, and long queues sometimes up to 40 minutes just to get out of the car park at busy times. So, why not park at the station and let the train take the strain? Trains leave Morpeth at 10.30, 12.30 and 16.38, call at Cramlington 8 minutes later and return from MetroCentre at 11.25, 15.20 and 17.20. You can also use these trains if going to Newcastle or connecting with an inter-city service there. MORE GOOD NEWS FROM NORTHERN There will also be a new evening train to Cramlington and Morpeth from 8th December – again provided by Northern Rail. This is on an indefinite basis, not just for Christmas. The times (subject to confirmation) are as follows: Northbound Mon - Fri Sat Newcastle dep 21.05 20.24 Cramlington dep 21.17 20.36 Morpeth arr 21.24 20.43 Southbound Mon - Fri Sat Morpeth dep 21.34 21.15 Cramlington dep 21.42 21.23 Newcastle arr 21.56 ** 21.37 ** ** The southbound trains continue on via Chester-Le-Street, Durham, Darlington, Allens West, Eaglescliffe and Thornaby to Middlesborough (NB: not via Sunderland as suggested at an earlier SENRUG meeting). CROSSCOUNTRY CUTS THREATENED Every silver lining has a cloud, and despite the new services delivered by Northern, the news from CrossCountry is not so good. Arriva, who took over the Cross Country franchise a few weeks ago, are planning to reduce the number of trains that stop at Morpeth from 4 each way per weekday to 3, from December 2008 (12 months time). Moreover, they plan to retime the trains and some of them will run only a few minutes behind the Northern service, thus reducing choice for Morpeth passengers yet further. However Sunday service will be improved. SENRUG has written a robust letter of objection about the cuts in Monday to Friday trains and you can see the full text of this on our website www.senrug.co.uk. The borough council and county council have similarly objected. We very much hope Arriva will listen to reason and reverse the decision. Our case is based on the argument there is neither technical nor commercial advantage for Arriva in withdrawing the Morpeth calls. RULES REFRESH Members with email have already been sent a copy of our letter to Arriva electronically. One or two have commented on the incident quoted of a passenger who purchased two separate tickets (Morpeth – Newcastle and Newcastle - York) as it was cheaper than a through ticket, even when travelling on a direct service. We are grateful to JP Buckley who has pointed out that under rule 19 of the national conditions of carriage, it is not necessary to step off the train and get back on again if using two tickets. The only requirement is the train must actually stop at the station where one ticket stops and the next starts. PS: Don’t forget, always check: 2 singles may be cheaper than a return. ASHINGTON BLYTH & TYNE LINE RE-OPENING This remains a key campaign objective for SENRUG. If you didn’t hear our update on the current status of the re-opening plans following Alan Fendley’s excellent talk on the line’s history at our 15th November meeting; the situation is as follows. The North East Assembly along with other funding partners commissioned a full feasibility report on re-opening the Morpeth – Choppington – Bedlington section. This has stated this section of the line could be re-opened for a capital cost of £4.1m and an annual subsidy of £50,000 for timetable option A or £100,000 for Option B. Option B gives a train every 30 minutes and provides service up to midnight on Monday to Saturdays, so benefits not just Choppington and Bedlington but Cramlington and Morpeth as well, and is therefore the option SENRUG favours. But meanwhile, NEXUS (the organisation responsible for public transport in Newcastle) commissioned a 2nd report from the same consultants on the technical feasibility of re-opening the Ashington to Northumberland Park Metro Station section of the line. This reported the plan is technically feasible and could deliver an hourly service even allowing for the current level of freight traffic. However, this was not a commercial study, so no costings were put on the plan. Faced with these two reports, Northumberland County Council has now instigated a 3rd study on the full technical and commercial feasibility of re-opening the whole line from MetroCentre to Ashington via Newsham and Bedlington. This should report in Spring of 2008. After that it’s decision time. SENRUG’s role will be to make sure the topic is kept at the top of the agenda and not lost in the confusion of the forthcoming move to a single unitary authority. Secondly, if the MetroCentre to Ashington section does prove too costly to re-open at the present time or is rejected for any other reason, then we at least want to make sure we revert back to the Morpeth – Bedlington plan, which we consider realistic, achievable and value for money. Our exhibition on the ABT re-opening proposals is currently in the Ticket Office at Morpeth Station, courtesy of Northern Rail. We have a brand new map display board, which has been printed for us free of charge by 247 Graphics. Do pop in and have a look. And invite anyone else you see who is interested in the exhibition to join SENRUG. There should be plenty of our ABT Re-opening leaflets in the Ticket Office. If supplies are running low, please contact Dennis Fancett or John Earl so we can leave some more there. The last two batches of our ABT leaflets have been photocopied for us free of charge by Wansbeck District Council, with permission of the Chief Executive Bob Stephenson. Wansbeck acknowledge that re-opening the line would deliver massive regenerative benefits to the area, and have been happy to support our campaign. We appreciate their support. RE-OPENING PETITION WILL CLOSE SOON Our petition to 10 Downing Street will only until the end of March 2008. We now have 750 signatories but would like at least 1000. If you haven’t yet signed the link is at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ABTreopening. If you don’t have internet access, this is available free from local libraries, and library staff will help you log on to the website. SENRUG AT WOODHORN CLIMATE CHANGE EXHIBITION We will be taking our ABT RE-opening exhibiting to Woodhorn’s Climate Change exhibition on the 13th January. Our intention is to make the case that re-opening the line will reduce cars on the road, cut carbon emissions and help save the planet. We do need help to man the stand. If you can give half a day to help us over this weekend, please contact John Earl. ENGINEERING WORKS We are aware of engineering works on 29th and 30th of December and the 4 weekends in January between Newcastle and Darlington. All operators’ trains are replaced by road coach. Most operators also have special timetables in operation over the Christmas and New Year periods so don’t forget to check before travelling. GRAND CENTRAL START IMMINENT Latest from Grand Central is that they will start a one-train service from Sunderland to London in mid December. Full service will commence once all their train fleets are ready. It's a pity this will, it seems, be too late to cover the New Year engineering works (see above). But check their website www.grandcentralrail.co.uk as once their full service is introduced, a direct train from Sunderland, easily reached by Metro, will be a better alternative to an hour in a road coach. Indeed, we hope next time the main line closes, Grand Central might even be allowed to pick up passengers from Newcastle as their trains are serviced at Heaton Depot. Because Grand Central trains run via Middlesborough they are not affected by the engineering works between Newcastle and Darlington. CRAMLINGTON PASSENGERS We’d love to increase our membership from passengers who use Cramlington. Recently, we’ve got the Help Point there fixed (is it still working?), got Northern to introduce an early morning northbound service and of course Cramlington also benefits from the new evening service, and Christmas Sunday trains (but why aren’t Northern advertising these at Cramlington?) We’d like to see the walking route from the station to the excellent Manor Walks shopping centre signposted, as well as directions from the station to the nearest bus stops. Indeed, the bus that goes round Nelson Village could easily call in to the station turning circle. KINGS CROSS ST PANCRAS NEWS Most readers will already be aware the new St Pancras International station has opened, adjacent to Kings Cross. This makes it much easier to get from the North East to France and Belgium by train, and through tickets are available from some companies, including Eurostar. A less publicised fact is that the awful to use Kings Cross Thameslink station is closing to be replaced by new underground platforms with step free access at St Pancras. The new platforms will be much nearer, and easier to access from Kings Cross Main Line than the old Thameslink station. So connections from the North East to First Capital Connect locations such as Brighton, Gatwick and Luton Airports, East Croydon, Wimbledon and St Albans are now much easier. WELCOME NATIONAL EXPRESS National Express will have taken over from GNER by the time you receive this newsletter. Already, some of the trains have had their GNER strips painted out. At present, we haven’t yet established dialogue with any of their senior managers but hope to do so soon. SEASON’S GREETINGS We wish all SENRUG members and other readers of our newsletter the very best for Christmas and the New Year. Our next Committee meeting (to which all members are invited) is on 7th January 2008 and a public meeting with a speaker will be arranged for around March or April 2008. DON’T FORGET A year’s membership of SENRUG still only costs £5, or £2.50 for the unwaged. New members are always welcome – just send a cheque payable to SENRUG to John Earl at 28 Bracken Ridge, Morpeth, NE61 3SY. If you forgot to renew your 2007/08 subscription please also send John a cheque. Dennis Fancett, Chairperson, SENRUG
+	05 December 2007 Press Release: 5th December 2007 Good News & Bad News As Campaign For Better Trains Continues
	SENRUG, the group that campaigns for better rail services in South East Northumberland, advises there is both good news and bad news for rail travellers in the area. Firstly the good news. Northern Rail has announced they will again be running a Sunday train service from Morpeth and Cramlington to Newcastle and MetroCentre in the run up to Christmas, for the benefit of Christmas shoppers. Trains will leave Morpeth at 10.30, 12.35 and 16.35, call at Cramlington 8 minutes later and return from MetroCentre at 11.25, 15.20 and 17.20. Dennis Fancett, SENRUG’s Chairman, welcomed the Sunday trains that will run up to 23rd December. “There have been recent reports of all the car parks at MetroCentre being full, and long queues sometimes up to 40 minutes just to get out of the car park at busy times” he said. “So, with parking at Morpeth and Cramlington stations being free, and plenty of space at weekends, why not park at the station and let the train take the strain?” A second piece of good news is that Northern Rail is also introducing a new evening train to and from Cramlington and Morpeth from 8th December. This is on an indefinite basis, not just for Christmas. The train leaves Newcastle at 21.05 on Mondays to Fridays and at the earlier time of 20.24 on Saturdays. The return journey leaves Morpeth at 21.34 on Monday to Fridays and 21.15 on Saturdays calling at Cramlington 8 minutes later. "This is the beginnings of an evening service" said Dennis. We hope it will prove successful and eventually be supplemented by other, later trains, so people can have a night out in Newcastle and still get home by train afterwards". But the bad news is that Arriva, who took over the Cross Country franchise a few weeks ago, are planning to reduce the number of trains that stop at Morpeth from 4 each way per weekday to 3, from December 2008 (12 months time). Moreover, they plan to retime the trains and some of them will run only a few minutes behind the Northern service, thus reducing choice for Morpeth passengers yet further although the Cross Country Sunday service will be improved. The proposed cutbacks to the Monday to Friday service have drawn a sharp response from SENRUG. “We think this is a madness” said Dennis. “It’s happening just as the market for rail at Morpeth is starting to establish itself again. Moreover, our calculations indicate there is no technical advantage for Arriva in cutting out Morpeth. Their trains still won’t reach Edinburgh any faster, nor are they stopping anywhere else instead. So, they are just throwing away the Morpeth fare revenue for no reason at all”. SENRUG has written a robust letter of objection about the cuts in Monday to Friday trains, as have both Castle Morpeth Borough Council and Northumberland County Council. It is hoped Arriva will see sense and reverse their decision. Meanwhile, SENRUG continue to campaign for the re-opening of the Ashington Blyth and Tyne line to passenger traffic. This is a fully maintained freight railway and it would be relatively inexpensive to bring back passenger trains. SENRUG have a small exhibition on the scheme at the Ticket Office at Morpeth station for the next few weeks. They have collected 750 signatures on their online petition to 10 Downing Street but want many more people to sign before it expires at the end of March. The address is petitions.pm.gov.uk/ABTreopening
+	19 November 2007 Letter to Arriva regarding the 'Consultation on Proposed CrossCountry Trains Timetable from 2009'
	Mr Gavin Bostock External Relations CrossCountry Mobilisation Team 5th Floor 43 Temple Row Birmingham B2 5LS Response to Consultation on Proposed CrossCountry Trains Timetable from 2009 1. Introduction 1.1 I am writing in response to the current consultation on the proposed new timetable for CrossCountry trains from 2009 onwards (December 2008 timetable change). Our comments - based on the draft timetables emailed to me by Frank Gordon on 17th October 2007 - are restricted to timetable routes 1-4 and are mainly concerned with service patterns at Morpeth Station. A summary of the existing and proposed service patterns for CrossCountry trains at Morpeth is given at Annex 1. 1.2 First let me say a few words about SENRUG. We are the South East Northumberland Rail User Group and were established in 2004 to promote rail travel in the area and represent the interests of both existing and potential rail users. The principle inter-city station in the region we represent is Morpeth, though it is worth noting a considerable number of travellers to the area start and finish the rail element of their journey at Newcastle. This is due to a combination of (i) lack of through services from Morpeth, (ii) lack of adequate connecting services between Morpeth (and other local stations) and Newcastle, and (iii) lack of knowledge of the direct services that do exist. 1.3 Since our inception, we have sought to work constructively with train operators and other rail industry partners to promote increased rail travel. Our policy has been to present achievable, realistic suggestions which will help train operators increase patronage and revenue as well as developing rail as a viable alternative for travel to, from and within the area. 1.4 We have already seen success in a number of areas and note with some satisfaction that rail travel at Morpeth has been steadily increasing since we commenced our activities. The station car park, once only half full, is now at capacity every weekday – and following lobbying from SENRUG we understand Northumberland County Council have drawn up plans to extend the car park and provide level access to the northbound platform. Following a successful trial in 2006 Northern Rail are now progressing a business case to extend the opening hours of the station ticket office (which also gives access to the toilets and waiting room) to include the afternoons. Northern are also introducing a new evening service (see further comments at para 4.4) and at SENRUG’s request ran a local service on Sundays for Christmas shoppers last December and will do so again in 2007. 1.5 But by far the most significant achievement to date however has been our request to the previous operator of CrossCountry (Virgin Trains) to introduce some stops on their inter-city services that pass through Morpeth. This commenced in Winter 2005 initially with 2 trains in each direction per weekday, and was increased to 4 trains in each direction per weekday last year. We understand these services proved successful in terms of additional farebox revenue for Virgin (hence the doubling of frequency in 2006) and that Morpeth to York has been the strongest flow. Although SENRUG has been active in promoting these services with our own posters in libraries and community centres and SENRUG initiated press coverage, we recognise that as a relatively new service, knowledge of these trains and the journey opportunities they represent is still not that widespread, and we believe patronage of these services at Morpeth is not yet at its full potential. 1.6 It is therefore with extreme disappointment that we note CrossCountry propose that rather than increase the number of services at Morpeth, to reduce them from 4 each way per weekday to 3. We urge this decision be re-considered, and present below both commercial and technical arguments for as a minimum retaining 4 services each way as well as increasing the number of trains yet further. We further present some comments on the overall timetable integration of the trains that CrossCountry propose will stop at Morpeth and how these fit with services provided by other operators. 2. Commercial Issues 2.1 Morpeth is a key commercial and population centre: Morpeth is the County Town of Northumberland and an important centre for commerce and industry. It lies within the more densely populated south eastern section of Northumberland. The population of the wider Castle Morpeth district is 49,000 compared to 31,000 for Alnwick district (roughly the area served by Alnmouth station) and 26,000 for Berwick district. Morpeth station is within a few miles of the towns of Ashington and Bedlington which lie in the neighbouring Wansbeck District which has a population of 59,000 (figures from 2001 census). It can be seen therefore that Morpeth station potentially serves a considerable community and should not be overlooked in comparison to other towns where the inter-city rail services are for historical reasons more firmly established. 2.2 (i) Morpeth as a rail-head still not fully established: It is only 2 years since CrossCountry services were introduced at Morpeth, and just 12 months since the service frequency was doubled to 4 trains each way per weekday. The service is not yet fully established; many people either do not yet know the service exists or have not yet been persuaded to try it. It takes some time for word to get round and for both business and leisure travellers to convince friends and colleagues of the advantages of train following a successful trip. To reduce the service at this stage, whilst passenger numbers are still growing and flows being established, does seem rather foolhardy. 2.2 (ii) Indeed, we believe that if CrossCountry, working in conjunction with National Express (shortly to take over the East Coast Main Line franchise), could achieve a service pattern of one inter-city train every 2 hours (approx) in each direction on weekdays, the market at Morpeth would grow even further for the benefit of all the train operators serving the station. It is particularly frustrating therefore that CrossCountry plan to cut some of the off-peak services and concentrate their stops into the peaks very close to those of other operators and this point is addressed more fully in section 4. 2.3 Key investment planned for Morpeth station: Infrastructure facilities at Morpeth are poor with no level access to the northbound platform, no passenger information system of any kind and no access to the waiting room and toilets once the ticket office closes at 12.20. However, plans are in hand to address the level access and ticket office / waiting room issue as stated in the introduction. A lease has recently been taken out on redundant and uninviting station buildings by a restaurant business and this will improve the ambience of the station yet further. There is currently no bus / rail integration at the station, but given Arriva’s commitment to this and noting Arriva is also the dominant bus operator we are hopeful this can be achieved in the near future. Indeed, we understand Northumberland County Council has plans to improve the junction at the station access road which will facilitate the bus companies serving the station and making use of the bus turning circle outside the station entrance. SENRUG will also lobby strongly for a customer information system to be provided now that 2 of the 3 train operators are changing. All of these improvements – themselves generated by the increased use of the station – will together improve the attractiveness of rail and increase patronage of train services yet further. It does seem to be a very strange decision therefore to choose this moment to decrease services, just as the station and associated train usage there is seeing something of a revival. 2.4 Morpeth has better car-parking and scope for further expansion than Newcastle: We are aware that some inter-city operators encourage passengers to drive to city centre stations such as Newcastle and park there in order to catch inter-city services. However, Newcastle has very restricted car-parking and the charge (set by GNER) of £12 per day is in many cases more expensive than the rail ticket – especially for people making overnight longer distance journeys who must then pay for 2 or more days parking. Our view is that many passengers, if they have to drive 10 miles to Newcastle and face city centre congestion to reach the car park, will simply elect to drive all the way to their destination and the business is lost to rail altogether. The city centre location of Newcastle means there is no scope within the station infrastructure to improve parking provision. By contrast there is scope to increase the amount of parking at Morpeth and once again we understand Northumberland County Council has plans to do this. This is likely to further increase the patronage of CrossCountry trains given that it was the advent of these services 2 years ago that has now caused the car park to be full each day. However, for this strategy of increased car parking to be effective, there needs to be a good range of inter-city services available at Morpeth throughout the day. 2.5 (i) Existing passenger data for Morpeth likely to be understated: We suspect data on passenger usage at Morpeth to be understated. SENRUG committee members have never seen a passenger count being done on any inter-city train between Morpeth and Newcastle; counts always seem to be done south of Newcastle or north of Alnmouth. Data from ticket sales is likely to be inaccurate since a various ticket price anomalies make it cheaper to re-book from Newcastle. It is difficult to demonstrate pricing anomalies given the range of advance purchase tickets now available; however using the case of what we understand to be the most popular journey from Morpeth on CrossCountry trains (to York); and using the case of a walk-on off-peak fare, it can be seen significant savings are made if the ticket is booked in 2 sections. Table 1: Morpeth to York. Walk-on fare (off-peak)   Price Ticket type (cheapest available Morpeth to York £36.50 Saver Return Morpeth to Newcastle £4.60 Cheap day return Newcastle to York £20.50 Cheap day return Total if booked as 2 tickets £25.10   Saving if booked as 2 tickets £11.40   2.5 (ii) Thus it can be seen that savvy passengers will re-book at Newcastle. This means that any data on usage at Morpeth based on ticket sales is understating the true usage of Morpeth and leading operators to believe that Morpeth passengers are only making local journeys to Newcastle. 2.5 (iii) NB: SENRUG has campaigned to correct some of the more bizarre ticket price anomalies and indeed progress has been made particularly on the cheaper advance purchase tickets. With regard to the above example, we know that people even travelling on the direct CrossCountry services from Morpeth to York have purchased 2 separate tickets. Following an attempt by Northern Rail Ticket Office staff at Morpeth to refuse to sell 2 tickets for a single through journey, we established the ruling that this is permitted provided the passenger leaves their seat at Newcastle, steps on to the platform and then gets back on to the same train. The passenger must apparently pay the additional £11=40 to have a single ticket if they wish to remain in their seat at Newcastle station. It is worth noting that for Morpeth to York the fare is set by GNER, the direct off-peak trains are provided by CrossCountry and walk-on tickets are sold by Northern Rail (who operate the ticket office at Morpeth). 2.6 Fare anomalies, as and when corrected, will increase Morpeth patronage yet further: We demonstrated in the paragraph above that savvy passengers re-book to get cheaper fares which distorts data taken from ticket sales. Conversely the infrequent traveller is unaware of methods to achieve cheaper fares and the bewildering array of advance purchase options. They only see the headline – needlessly expensive – fare and are likely to be put off rail altogether. But as these anomalies are increasingly rectified – and we note CrossCountry’s commitment to introducing simpler ticketing options – we can expect patronage at Morpeth to increase yet further as the first fare to be quoted becomes more attractive. 2.7 Growth of Morpeth to Edinburgh Market: Personal observation on both CrossCountry and East Coast Main Line services is that they are lightly loaded between Newcastle and Edinburgh, with passenger numbers picking up again north of Edinburgh on those trains that proceed further. It must therefore be in the train operators’ interest to increase usage between Newcastle and Edinburgh. We point out that Morpeth to Edinburgh has the potential to be a popular flow capable of growth amongst both leisure and business travellers. A day out in Edinburgh by train from Morpeth only really became available when the CrossCountry services at Morpeth doubled to 4 trains each way last year. However, if off-peak services are cut it will limit the potential for further growth on this route. Few people find the prospect of travelling south to Newcastle in order to pick up a northbound train which then passes through Morpeth without stopping appealing. Even business commuting using peak hour trains is less likely to grow if there is an insufficient selection of direct off-peak trains as commuters are aware of the need to be able to get home during the day in the event of an unexpected emergency. 2.8 Branch Line Re-opening: SENRUG has been campaigning for the re-opening of the Ashington Blyth and Tyne Line to passenger traffic. Our plans have been taking forward by the North East Assembly, Northumberland County Council and other funding partners and there is now a high level of interest in the scheme. Earlier this year I was invited to join a delegation led by Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy to discuss the scheme with Rail Minister Tom Harris at Westminster. One possibility, that has been the subject of a full feasibility study carried out in conjunction with Network Rail, is that the section from Morpeth to Bedlington via Choppington will re-open as phase 1 of the scheme. As the line is a fully working freight line there is little infrastructure work necessary and if the funding partners agree it could be re-opened as early as 2009. This would increase the catchment area served by Morpeth due to the establishment of rail connections from additional stations. 3. Technical Issues 3.1 The existing stops on CrossCountry services were introduced without any lengthening of the overall journey times between Newcastle and Edinburgh. The services that currently call at Morpeth were specifically selected by Virgin for this reason. It seems there is sufficient gap between the available departure slots at Morpeth and arrival slots at Edinburgh offered by Network Rail (and vice versa for southbound) for the stops to be made without any cost to overall journey time. 3.2 The SENRUG representative attending the CrossCountry consultation event in Edinburgh on 1st October travelled on the 11.47 departure from Morpeth (as this is a lightly used train with cheaper fares available). This is one of the services where CrossCountry propose to withdraw the Morpeth stop. Yet this train, even after making the Morpeth stop, arrived at Edinburgh early and was held outside the station for several minutes awaiting its scheduled arrival time. What is the point of withdrawing the stops and refusing extra fare revenue if the train is simply going to be held at signals elsewhere? 3.3 Whilst we acknowledge CrossCountry are no doubt taking advantage of a full timetable recasting delivered by Network Rail for the 2009 timetable, a cursory examination of the proposed CrossCountry timetable for 2009 indicates the same issue will occur. The trains on which the Morpeth stops are proposed for withdrawal by CrossCountry (indicated by yellow highlight) do not deliver any improvement in overall journey times or replacement stops elsewhere. Table 2: Proposed CrossCountry Timetable for 2009: Newcastle to Edinburgh extract, Mon-Fri northbound click here for larger version Key to station codes: ABN = Aberdeen BMH = Birmingham New Street; BRI = Bristol; DUN = Dundee; EDB = Edinburgh Waverley; EXD = Exeter; GLA = Glasgow; NEW = Newcastle; PLY = Plymouth; PNZ = Penzance; RDG = Reading 3.4 It can be seen from table 2 that most trains making 2 stops between Newcastle and Edinburgh take 93 minutes. The trains from which the Morpeth stop is proposed for withdrawal still take 93 minutes but make only 1 stop en route. 3.5 A similar pattern is repeated on the southbound journeys. The trains from which Morpeth stops have been eliminated (again highlighted yellow) do not achieve any faster journey times between Edinburgh and Newcastle and have fewer stops than other trains making the same run in the same time. Table 3: Proposed CrossCountry Timetable for 2009 Edinburgh to Newcastle extract, Mon-Fri southbound click here for larger version Station codes as for table 2 3.6 We therefore believe CrossCountry are surrendering the commercial advantages of the fare revenue and overall growth to the rail market achieved by the Morpeth stops, without achieving any technical benefits. 3.7 Finally, it is worth pointing out Morpeth station lies on a sharp curve with a 50 miles per hour speed restriction in force. As trains must slow down for the speed restriction, the time lost due to de-acceleration and re-acceleration of a train that calls at Morpeth is less than that at other stations. 4. Timetable Integration Issues 4.1 Whilst all services offered by CrossCountry are welcome, in some cases the proximity of the proposed revised times of CrossCountry services at Morpeth is so close to existing trains provided by other operators that we feel few new journey opportunities will be offered and there will simply be extraction from one operator to another. We would remind you of the Arriva plc board commitment to integrated public transport that was communicated so strongly at your stakeholder presentation during the franchising exercise. In making these points we realise that whilst we have the proposed CrossCountry timetable for 2009, we do not as yet have the other operators proposals so we are comparing 2009 times for CrossCountry with current times for GNER (to become National Express) and Northern Rail. 4.2 In the southbound direction, the new morning CrossCountry service that calls at Alnmouth at 07.51 and Morpeth at 08.05 is extremely close to the current Northern Rail service that departs a couple of minutes earlier from both stations (see table 4). It is inevitable this train will be used by commuters travelling into Newcastle – something we understood CrossCountry to be keen to avoid - since the CrossCountry train overtakes the Northern service en route. Whilst we do not deny the CrossCountry train will be of benefit to passengers travelling further south than Newcastle who find the 07.20 GNER departure from Morpeth slightly too early, it would be better to have trains more evenly spaced throughout the day. Table 4: Morning southbound trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle (Mon – Fri) click here for larger version Station codes as for table 2 plus CHA = Chathill. ? = continued in later column. ? = continued from earlier column Operator codes: NX = National Express; CC = CrossCountry; NR = Northern Rail 4.3 There is a particular case for the 07.33 from Dundee calling at Morpeth at approx 10.14 since there is currently a 1 hour 20 minute gap for southbound trains from Morpeth between 09.32 and 10.50, and this train would be more helpful in promoting an overall reasonable frequency of services throughout the day, which would grow the market for all operators. 4.4 Similarly for northbound services, CrossCountry propose to withdraw the Morpeth stop on its last northbound train of the day (22.00 hours at Morpeth) and replace it with a stop on the earlier service at 21.11. Yet this will be only 28 minutes after the preceding GNER service and 8 minutes before a new service Northern Rail are introducing from next month (see table 5). Additionally, passengers travelling from York to Morpeth will find the CrossCountry service is only 20 minutes later than the GNER service. We believe there is a case for retaining the Morpeth stop on the last train of the day. This would offer a later service to Morpeth for passengers not just from Newcastle but also from Birmingham and York and (by changing at York or Newcastle) from London. The current CrossCountry service makes it possible to leave London at 18.20 and reach Morpeth at 22.00. It would also offer a service to Morpeth from Wakefield and Leeds, the 21.11 train routing via Doncaster which as mentioned is served by the GNER just 20 minutes earlier. Table 5: Evening northbound trains between York, Newcastle and Edinburgh (Mon – Fri) Station and Operator codes as for tables 2 and 4. Yellow highlight indicates train that currently stops at Morpeth 5. Sunday Service We welcome the improved Sunday service the proposed timetable offers for Morpeth. We believe there is scope to improve this yet further given that on Sundays there is less of a need to achieve the fastest possible journey times between Newcastle and Edinburgh and there is less congestion on the network. It should be noted that passengers wishing to travel on inter-city services on Sundays can not use a local train and change at Newcastle since no local service operates on Sundays (except in December). 6. Conclusion 6.1 We trust CrossCountry will take note of the arguments both commercial and technical presented above, and retain the Morpeth stops on the CrossCountry trains that currently serve the station. For Mondays to Saturdays northbound this is at (approx) 11.47 (the 06.15 from Bristol) and 22.00 (the 14.25 from Plymouth). For Mondays to Saturdays southbound this is at 13.21 and 15.21 (12.05 and 14.05 from Edinburgh respectively). 6.2 Moreover, we hope CrossCountry, in recognition of the strong arguments presented, will consider the case for additional trains stopping at Morpeth. For Mondays to Saturdays northbound a stop at approx 13.50 (the 06.25 from Plymouth) and 17.50 (08.30 from Penzance) would be welcome as would southbound stops at 10.14 (07.33 from Dundee) and 19.21 (18.05 from Edinburgh). 6.3 We would be happy to provide further clarification on any of the points made in this letter and hope you will agree we have presented a strong case in favour of the development of Morpeth as a CrossCountry station. We have confined this letter to timetable issues, but we look forward to developing a constructive relationship with CrossCountry and to discussing a range of other issues, some of which were touched on this letter, at the appropriate opportunity. We wish you well as you now take over the franchise. Kindest regards Dennis Fancett Chair, SENRUG: The South East Northumberland Rail User Group Re-open the Ashington Blyth & Tyne Line: Sign our online petition to 10 Downing St at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ABTreopening Over 700 people have now signed. Shouldn't you join them? ANNEX 1 SUMMARY OF NEW CROSSCOUNTRY TIMETABLE PROPOSALS FOR MORPETH click here for larger version
+	23 September 2007 Minutes of SENRUG committee meeting, 6.9.07
	Present: Dennis Fancett (Chair), John Earl (Sec), Richard Hilton (Treasurer), Ken Allott, John Brierley, Trevor Watson, Colin Patmore, Adrian King. Apologies: Ronald Hunt, Gordon Barclay. Minutes of last meeting agreed. AGM. It was felt that there were reasonable numbers considering the late withdrawal of our main speaker, Denis Murphy MP. The room was full which is always good. Some thought the substitute speaker, John Nicholson of Northumberland County, was let off lightly – others that we had given him food for thought on one or two matters he said County would at least look at again. News, updates, progress. ABT line: At Westminster, Minister Tom Harris had “said nothing, but he said nothing negative either.” Dennis` feeling was that this was a positive meeting. Present were Dennis, Dave Ledger and Dave Marshall of the North East Assembly and Denis Murphy MP. For the future, an ominous note was that the NE Assembly was to be abolished, and these are the people who have been pushing the idea. Responsibilities are going to One North East, though it is possible that the overview of transport in the region might go to Nexus. In the light of savings to the Northumberland budget with the projected closure of the District Councils, Dennis wrote to Peter Hillman the new Leader asking him whether he could commit anything more to the ABT plan. Response – we may in future put the ABT as a higher priority in the Local Transport Plan, but we “can`t commit the new authority to anything at present.” Ken felt that a new authority would need a new policy. Dennis was going to a meeting next week which would consider all Northumberland rail projects – held by NE Assembly. Where will £4.1m needed to rebuild come from? More benefits would have to be demonstrated, or it might be dropped. Phase 1 to Bedlington may not hit the benefits as much as 1A to Ashington, the regenerative benefits there being that much higher. Trevor mentioned a plan to redevelop Ashington football ground as part of regeneration of Ash. town centre, and suggested the station plan might be linked in some way. Agreed to keep a watching brief, but also pushing our ideas through the exhibition and leaflets. At Choppington the support was good, some were anti at Bedlington rather surprisingly; exhibition currently at Hirst. CrossCountry: No surprise at the decision, as Arriva`s was definitely the best presentation. When the franchise was announced, Dennis had sent them a letter, and there was a positive response on the idea of an early meeting on bus integration. We need to watch developments – they might try to speed up times to Edinburgh which may threaten our stops, or we could drop back to 2 trains. They would start on 11th Nov. Reaction was mainly positive, and it was possible that Arriva had an answer to the capacity problem – i.e. revert to some use of HSTs. East Coast Main Line: Dennis produced a large volume from Martin Murphy which was the Route Utilisation Strategy. Ken had glanced at it and felt that most of its discussions related to the route up to Doncaster; other issues discussed related to items such as bringing back use of the Leamside line for diversions – either way, it was felt that a Railfutures submission would probably deal with any of our issues. Dennis reiterated the clear statement by a senior Railtrack official in York last year that “we have no capacity problems north of Newcastle.” It was hoped nevertheless that not everything would be sacrificed to faster speeds to Edinburgh. Dennis mentioned the strong possibility that the ECML might be treated as two parts by the incoming franchisees – an over-capacity line south of York, but a line with much more flexibility north of that, so timetabling might be more creative as a result. All felt that the GNER timetable had “oddities” and could be improved upon, hopefully to Morpeth`s advantage. A remark that Lincoln was being looked at more seriously gave weight to the idea that there might be more options in future. Once again, the issue of why freight is not diverted via Leamside came up, and whether there were likely to be problems ahead because National Express had paid more than GNER for the franchise despite GNER not being able to meet the payments – there was a feeling that this was more about the parent company Sea Containers going bust than about the capacity of the ECML to deliver that sort of surplus if well run. Morpeth station issues: There was a report of a flurry of activity in the station after the recent negative publicity on its facilities, with rumours that something might be underway or at least planned, but no confirmation as yet. There was still a chance that car parking charges might be imposed if the car park was enhanced, but people still felt that this would be counterproductive. There was a need to push Northern again on getting someone in the office in the afternoons. Cramlington – new direction notices were an improvement. Dennis would write to Nexus concerning coming closures of Metro between Monument and Jesmond, asking for replacement buses to go through to Central Station. John reported continuing problems in getting existing members to send in subscriptions, though new memberships were still healthy – 94 members reported now, though defaults meant that £235 was missing from accounts. John suggested putting in an sae to make the process as easy as possible – opinion was divided on this as to an extent it was sending good money after bad. It was agreed to wait a couple of weeks to see what came in, then send out targeted letters to defaulters, who may just have forgotten. Either way, any kind of fundraising was obviously going to be useful – a number of ideas such as a model railway show and a Community Rail Day were suggested, John and Richard to research the former and Dennis to look into the latter. It was agreed that we should pool ideas in time to apply for funding for publicity etc. to CMBC Community Fund in early November. Meetings: Agreed to ask Alan Wells (historian of the Blyth and Tyne) for a possible meeting in November in Choppington Welfare – John to check speaker, Dennis to check venue. Meeting in March still undecided. Date of next committee meeting: Monday 5th Nov. Other meetings to send representatives: Dennis to NE Assembly next week, John to Edinburgh for Arriva meeting on 1st. Oct., Richard to York for Rail Passenger Council on 27th.Oct. Agreed to explore cheapest options. John Earl, Secretary, 17.9.07
+	23 September 2007 Newsletter - September 2007
	ABT HOPES RISE AS SENRUG MEETS MINISTER SENRUG Chairman Dennis Fancett was invited to Westminster recently (18th July) to meet Rail Minister Tom Harris to discuss the first phase of re-opening the Ashington Blyth & Tyne (ABT) line to passengers. The plans, put forward by SENRUG, are for a phased re-opening starting with the short section from Morpeth to Bedlington via Choppington. A recent report confirmed the scheme is viable and a relatively low cost way to bring huge regeneration benefits to this area. The meeting was facilitated by Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy who particularly requested a representative from SENRUG be present. Others present were the North East Assembly’s Development Board Chair, Cllr Dave Ledger, and transport manager Dave Marshall as well as David Laux from the County Council. The Minister told the delegation they had been “doing the right thing” to get as far as they had, with the detailed feasibility study completed. He also expressed himself “intrigued” by the scheme and commented it was in line with the Eddington philosophy, as it used existing rail assets. He asked to be kept informed of developments. LETTER TO THE LEADER SENRUG received several letters from the Leader and Chief Exec of Northumberland County Council about their new plans for a single authority which they claim will result in a saving of £17m each year. As these plans have now been accepted, we have written to the new Council Leader Cllr Peter Hillman asking if some of this saving can be used to fund the ABT re-opening. (ABT option 2 needs just £100k per year plus £4.1m capital). The letter also pointed out a number of areas where we feel the Council’s leadership in rail matters has been rather lacklustre. ASHINGTON BLYTH & TYNE EXHIBITION Our exhibition on the ABT re-opening plans has recently been at Choppington Welfare and Bedlington Station Residents Association. It is now at Hirst Welfare in Ashington. If you have suggestions of venue which would be willing to host the exhibition, please contact Dennis Fancett who will make the arrangements. THE RETURN OF ARRIVA Many people in South East Northumberland will be surprised to find they will be saying goodbye to Virgin, who will hand the Cross Country rail franchise over to Arriva on 11th November 2007. The perception here in the North East is that Virgin had done a very good job, in particular having demonstrated their willingness to listen to SENRUG’s case for inter-city stops at Morpeth. Nevertheless, at the end of the day it’s about who offers the Department for Transport the best value for money, and this is obviously where Arriva scored SENRUG were invited to hear presentations from all 4 bidders on their plans for the franchise. Whilst it was not the quality of these presentations that won them the franchise, it must be said that Arriva’s was probably the most comprehensive, in particular in terms of creating more capacity to relieve the existing overcrowding problems. A further feature of Arriva’s presentation is that they stated they were committed to bus – rail integration. However, a few years back Arriva also ran the Northern (local) rail franchise, and during this time they made absolutely no attempt to integrate the bus services (also Arriva) with their trains. So, we have already written to Arriva asking them to demonstrate this commitment by having the buses pull in to the station turning circle at Morpeth. A reply has been received, non committal as yet but we will keep pushing. SENRUG is of course determined to build a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Arriva as operators of the New Cross Country franchise, and so far, the evidence suggests Arriva feel likewise. BYE BYE GNER The East Coast Main Line franchise, currently operated by GNER, also goes to a new operator. National Express will take over from 9th December 2007. A criticism of the current GNER operation was that (apart from getting their sums wrong) it did an awful lot for Leeds but not much for anywhere else in the country. This allowed niche players like Grand Central to announce their London -–Sunderland service, which GNER complained would bite into their Newcastle revenues. But, if there are that many passengers for Sunderland, why didn’t GNER think about a Sunderland service themselves? National Express do not seem to have fallen into this trap. Their commitment to start a new London – Lincoln service proves they are thinking about other towns – including places where a rail market needs to be re-established. Lets hope the possibility of more Morpeth services on the East Coast Main Line is not sacrificed for the objective of cutting a few minutes off the London – Edinburgh times. It only needs a selection of trains throughout the day to get to Edinburgh as quickly as possible. Many of the remainder could make additional stops at Morpeth. SENRUG’s input to the DfT consultation made suggestions of when extra Morpeth stops were needed and a copy of this document also went to National Express. MORPETH STATION RESTAURANT Plans have been submitted to concert some of the redundant station buildings at Morpeth into an Indian Restaurant. These plans can be inspected at the FirstCall office in Morpeth. John Earl has already seen them and thinks that overall, they will enhance the station, though inevitably there will be some disruption whilst building work is carried out. In general SENRUG welcomes anything that brings life into the station area. NEW FROM NORTHERN Just over 18 months ago SENRUG met Northern managers and made several suggestions for improving local rail services. It’s taken a long time coming, but 2 of SENRUG’s suggestions have now been acted on. Northern’s first northbound service of the day now stops at Cramlington at 06.12. This train arrives Morpeth 06.17, Alnmouth 06.37, and Chathill 06.53. Change at Morpeth or Alnmouth for following GNER service to reach Berwick at 07.14, Dunbar 07.38 Edinburgh 08.06, or (in winter months) Glasgow 09.25. Or you can now return to Cramlington from Newcastle in the early morning, leaving Newcastle at 06.00. Secondly, Northern DUO tickets are now available from Morpeth and Cramlington (2nd adult goes half price). For some unknown reason they were not before. Cramlington’s Help Point has finally been fixed, and the station has new signs saying which platform is for which direction (though Morpeth is still waiting for these). But we are still waiting for Northern’s response re the opening the ticket office at Morpeth throughout the day (we are told the business case is still going through) – see item Travellers Tales below, and on the question of every train stopping at Manors. In general though we enjoy a positive relationship with Northern Rail and are regularly participate in their stakeholder events – the last one, held on a special train to Whitehaven, was much enjoyed by those who went. TRAVELLERS TALES Recently we needed to travel to Aberdeen urgently at late notice. GNER offer some reasonably priced tickets as late as up to 6 pm the day before travel, representing a significant saving over the walk-on fare. Although we could see these tickets available for sale on the web, the system would not sell them to us. This was because, travelling the next day meant there was not time to post them out. There is no Fastticket machine at Morpeth, and the rail companies no longer let you order tickets in advance and collect them at the ticket office. Of course, we could not pop down to the station to buy the tickets over the counter since the ticket office at Morpeth is closed in the afternoon. I phoned GNER but their unhelpful response was to buy the tickets from Newcastle. This would have meant leaving Morpeth at 07.20 to get to Newcastle in time to collect the tickets, and then getting the train back which stops at Morpeth at 08.55, and paying extra for the privilege. Surely there must be a better way? There is, but you have to be pretty savvy to work it out. Buy a Megatrain ticket for £1 to Edinburgh on the Virgin service 50 minutes later. This can be bought on the Megabus website and you don’t need a paper ticket so no problem about being unable to pick it up. Then back to the GNER website to buy a saver return Edinburgh to Aberdeen (Scotrail) and a further single Edinburgh to Morpeth (for the return journey). These tickets can be collected at the Fastticket machine at Edinburgh. The overall price even worked out cheaper! But come on rail companies; it’s not good enough for advance tickets to be available for sale but passengers unable to buy them because the ticket office isn't open. ENGINEERING WORKS Trevor Watson reports that engineering works are being carried out on the line every weekend from 15th -16th September through to 3rd - 4th November 2007. No trains will run north of Morpeth on these dates. GNER services to Edinburgh will be diverted via Carlisle and there will be coaches connecting Newcastle with Morpeth, Alnmouth Berwick and Dunbar. On Saturdays 27th October and 3rd November Newcastle – Cramlington - Morpeth trains will be replaced by coaches PETITIONS Have you signed our petition on the re-opening of the ABT line yet? We have 600 signatures so far, but would like a 1000 before the deadline which is next April. Get your friends, family and work colleagues to sign at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ABTreopening We’ve become aware of some other worthy petitions too. The government subsidises bus companies by paying for senior citizens to get free bus travel. Yet it does not do the same for rail travel (not even local rail journeys). If you think that’s unfair then sign at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/FreeSeniorsRail ASLEF have set up a petition to ban 60-ton lorries from British roads. Heavier lorries mean roads become more unsafe and extra money has to be spent on repairing them etc. Rail is a much better option for bulk freight. Sign at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Ban60tonlorries/ JOIN SENRUG A year’s membership of SENRUG still only costs £5, or £2.50 for the unwaged. To join, send a cheque payable to SENRUG to John Earl at 28 Bracken Ridge, Morpeth, NE61 3SY. Can we also urge existing members who have not yet renewed their subscription for 2007/08 to similarly send a cheque to John. Dennis Fancett, Chairperson, SENRUG.
+	23 September 2007 July AGM Minutes
	SENRUG AGM, Thursday 12th July, Morpeth Methodist Church Present: Dennis Fancett, Chair; John Earl, Secretary; Richard Hilton, Treasurer, plus 25 in the audience. Apologies: Jenny Lynn, John Talbot, Jack Martin, Martin Murphy, Ian Robertson. Chairman`s introduction. Dennis mentioned the meeting to further the ABT line hopefully with the Rail Minister next week, 18th July, and introduced John Nicholson. John Nicholson, speaker. John is the Executive Director for Public Transport Policy with Northumberland County Council, and he took us through what the County is responsible for in terms of public transport. He said that the core document was the Local Transport Plan, which needs to “nest with” the regional transport strategy. Northumberland apparently spends £20m a year improving the network in the county. There is a Community Strategy, and transport is an important part of this. There is a Local Area Agreement, which is an agreement with the government over the hard and fast things they will deliver. John felt that for too long Northumberland did not “punch its weight” locally or nationally; however, by the same token he felt that we would be fooling ourselves if we thought that the county could operate as an island. This meant that decisions taken at County level would not always find favour with everyone, and that transport plans made at a local level had to meet with a favourable reception at national level. John then went on to regional developments, and he mentioned that the government of Tony Blair was very keen on City Regions – strong city regions were intended to bridge the north-south divide. He wondered whether Gordon Brown was less keen on City Regions, in which case we might see changes locally reflecting this. There was such a thing as a Regional Economic Strategy, and transport and connectivity form a key part of the vision of this document. He felt that in future the Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority might be expanded to cover a wider area, possibly including Northumberland. The Eddington Report was supposed to point a way forward, but disappointingly it merely seemed to encourage better use of existing transport infrastructure. No major upgrade to railway lines was envisaged in this report, nor were there any recommendations to tackle rising road and rail demand other than road pricing. A new Local Transport Bill seemed to suggest expanded PTAs, more quality Bus Contracts, measures to improve punctuality, and local road pricing. John felt that the county was able to have far less influence on rail provision than bus. They were often lobbying and trying to influence things, and their brief was to “maintain and expand the level of rail services in Northumberland”. Improvements under way at present included a study commissioned on a possible station at Belford, a £1m investment in Berwick station, £150k spent on the Prudhoe Interchange, and £165,000 on major improvements to parking at Morpeth. The work on this may start by autumn. Question: 1) Are you supportive of the Ashington, Blyth &Tyne reopening? Answer: We can support anything that has local support. However, the county council cannot give unqualified support for anything that cannot be sustained. Q.2): Do you agree that support for rail projects is also support for the environment, given that rail is calculated at ten times less environmentally harmful than other forms of transport? A: Agree 100%. The County Council is actively encouraged to seek to reduce environmental problems. We should be being proactive about e.g. use of cycles. Q3) Are you aware that bus and train transport is not particularly well integrated in Northumberland? Several examples were given, including the example of Morpeth, where a bus stop is provided but not used. A: the deregulated bus market does not serve us particularly well – anything that increases integration we would be in favour of. There followed a number of points made by the audience about poor provision relating to rail in Northumberland, all of which John promised to note and take back to his department: Point about stopping patterns between Morpeth and Berwick – there was a twelve-hour gap during the day, which meant that the north and south parts of the county were not effectively joined by public transport except by a two-hour bus journey. If the county invested more in rail, congestion on bank holidays for instance could be eased by rail and cycle provision, as in other rural counties, e.g.Norfolk. The county seems dominated by the road lobby. Arriva accessible buses have mostly been deployed elsewhere. Most Arriva buses are not accessible. There is no way for wheelchair users to access the station from Mafeking and Carlisle Park directions. Officers from the NCC could benefit from going to other authorities where old lines have been reopened, e.g. Nottinghamshire`s Robin Hood line, to discuss successful reopenings. Equally, the good rural transport network in Austria was mentioned, and the suggestion made that we could learn from them. Charge for use of cycle lockers was £20 a month, a clear disincentive to use cycles more. This part of the meeting was closed by the Chairman, with grateful thanks to John for coming along and giving his time to us. After agreement on last year`s minutes, Dennis went on to give his report. It had been a busy year, with many new things happening since our January 2006 meeting with Northern. The ticket office at Morpeth had opened in the afternoon, but the staff were at full stretch and the experiment was abandoned. We have made strong representations to Northern, and they are hopeful that future arrangements can be made. It was left to us to advertise this last time, so we are hopeful that plenty of warning will be given in future. On the new franchises, we attended all franchise meetings for both the X-Country and ECML bids, noting that Northumberland County Council were conspicuous by their absence. Their response to the call for input to the franchise document was dilatory to say the least, and it was only a plea from Dennis that they might at least edit copy our document so that some input was forthcoming from the county that produced any response at all. He made the point that the train operating companies are not going to be very impressed by our pleas for better services if we have no apparent interest from our own county. The statutory requirement from both franchise documents is still at a baseline two trains per day, so if we want to improve on that there is much scope for Northumberland to lobby hard. We were pleased to see the new winter Sunday service starting up, but again there was little warning and the take-up was disappointing. We had suggested more advertisement e.g. on carriage windows, if the venture runs again. Another valuable initiative was the early morning northbound train stopping at Cramlington. This means that passengers can get to Edinburgh via Morpeth by 8a.m. A help point has also been introduced at Cramlington, something we have asked for. We have put in a lot of work on the ABT line reopening. Wansbeck Council and the North East Assembly have been very supportive, Northumberland CC rather less so, but they have put money into the feasibility study. Denis Murphy`s support had been consistent and excellent – the debate in Parliament had created a lot of useful publicity. The next step was that Denis had set up a meeting with the Rail Minister, for next Wednesday the 18th, and he was very keen that Senrug should be represented, so Dennis is to attend. For the future, the access issue at Morpeth is still a problem. The county still has no plans for this, despite as Dennis says the northbound access being an apparently easy step; the scouts and bob-a-job week were mentioned. Again the initiative seems to be lacking; it had been pointed out that the “access for all” fund could be applied for, but it hasn`t. Reinstatement of Manors remains a priority, as does a reinstatement of a local service to Berwick. The Nexus Ashington study had not yet reported, but when it did, it was hoped that the timetable for the ABT line would remain the same and that the aims of the two studies would not clash. Comments: Ronald reported a nice comment from a lady from Rotherham who said she “Cannot say how much they appreciated the things Senrug is doing for us.” It was worth noting that our work is appreciated by the general public even if they are not members. Arising from the feasibility study on the ABT line, John said that it was notable that it said that all trains could stop at Manors regardless of whether the base or enhanced timetable was used with no loss of service to the public or revenue. It had also said that information points should be placed on new platforms at Bedlington and Choppington “since this is perceived as standard on stations in the region.” In response to the hollow laughter in reference to Morpeth, Dennis said that if the ABT line went ahead it would stand out like a sore thumb that the new line was provided with better information facilities than Morpeth itself, and that hopefully this would shame the NCC at last to do something about it. This was why he had argued for funds for information screens for Morpeth not to be put into the costings for the ABT line. After thanking Colin Patmore for his excellent work as Treasurer, Dennis introduced our new Treasurer, Richard Hilton, who presented accounts showing a balance at present of £210. A big expense (£157) this year had been the new display boards, but they had been in constant use since purchase and they were a vital part of our outreach work. They were to go on tour with the exhibition over the next few months in Choppington and Bedlington. We were grateful to Wansbeck Council for printing off 1,000 of our ABT line leaflets; without such offers we could not survive, since publicity was the main expense for us. Nic Best pointed out that we had only had one try so far at Castle Morpeth`s awards scheme, and that money for publicity for a project was a valid thing to apply for. Elections – Dennis was re-elected as Chair. Richard was re-elected as Treasurer. John was re-elected as Secretary, though if anyone else wants a turn, he will not stand in their way! Adrian King and John Brierley agreed to join the committee. AOB: John Wylde (Berwick Member) has published a book on Integrated Transport – enquiries via us to John. There is a shortened version of the ABT report to download for anyone who wants it – Dennis has the full report which is very long, but he will be glad to talk to members about this if they wish. Some disquiet was expressed about Arriva`s recent award of the CrossCountry franchise, going on past experience in the region; Dennis said that in fairness they made a very good pitch to the meetings – by comparison Virgin were lacklustre and offered very little; they could not even be very positive about the advances already made at Morpeth. John Brierley said that he had heard that Arriva may have made a good point about overcrowding, and some offers to avoid that problem. Dennis made the point that he had a promise of discussions with Arriva to improve bus/rail integration if the franchise was awarded, and that if they had won it was perhaps because they had offered more trains. They had, for instance, implied that they were going to keep the 4 stops at Morpeth already established despite the fact that they were not written into the franchise. Carole wondered whether local officials had any plans to market Morpeth attractions through the station signage in the same way as Alnwick – e.g. “Alnmouth for Alnwick Garden”. Agreed it would be a good idea, but so far it seemed unlikely. Trevor mentioned that there would be disruption from Network Rail engineering on seven weekends from September onwards. Ronald mentioned that when buses were substituted they sometimes arrived early at Cramlington and did not wait to pick up. A visitor from Chester-le-Street asked whether following on from John Nicholson`s address, if the PTE was widened to include Morpeth would it benefit us? Dennis: Probably – Nexus are more proactive on rail. The same speaker asked if Community Rail status would benefit us, and Dennis pointed out that we had discussed this in committee after Gordon Harrison`s visit in March, and on the whole thought not as Community Rail status did not apply to Mainline or freight lines, which is what we are dealing with. It would be an uphill struggle to get the funding, and the outcome being doubtful it was thought more productive to put our energies into other things. Meeting finished at 9.30pm. Next Meeting (Committee): Thursday 6th Sept 7.30pm at Ken`s house, 75 Low Stobhill.
+	05 January 2007 Newsletter - December 2006
	The last 6 months have certainly been busy for your SENRUG committee, with a number of important developments impacting on passengers and potential rail travellers in South East Northumberland. The period started back in the summer when Northern Rail suddenly announced that they would be keeping Morpeth’s ticket office open in the afternoon, for an initial trial of 3 weeks. It would be nice for SENRUG to take the credit for this initiative, but actually our thanks must go to Betty Greener, the ticket office clerk, who had managed to persuade Northern management this was the right thing to do. Betty then went on to work all the extra hours herself, for the benefit of local rail customers. SENRUG has written to Northern Area Manager Steve Butcher commending Betty and asking him to thank her for her initiative. But there was hardly any advance notice of the extended opening hours, and SENRUG were worried the initiative would flop if no-one knew about it. It must be remembered that the ticket office being open also gives access to the toilets and waiting room, means that advance purchase tickets can be bought or different rail travel options discussed with a helpful member of staff. So SENRUG took it on themselves to publicise the extended opening times and got coverage in the local press. As news filtered round, the number of people buying tickets in the afternoon increased. The trial was extended for a few further weeks – which Betty also manned - and we understand unofficially that by the time the trial eventually finished, sufficient ticket sales were being generated to make Northern think about extending the opening hours permanently. We are still waiting to hear the formal response. Next up was SENRUG’s AGM at which we welcomed Dr Paul Salverson, Director of Community Rail at Northern, as our guest speaker. Paul gave a very upbeat “can do” talk in which a number of new initiatives were hinted at. There can be no doubt that Paul, who previously led the Association of Community Rail Partnerships, is a real ally of those looking to improve rail services in a local area. Following the meeting, I wrote to Northern asking them to introduce a trial Sunday service on the line on the Sundays running up to Christmas. And the result is … they have! This is an astonishingly positive result for both Northern and SENRUG as these services have been introduced without any additional DfT subsidy. It is up to us, the rail passengers in the area, to ensure these services are fully used if we want to see them return next year, or even made permanent. I particularly draw to your attention the A1 will be closed between Stannington and Seaton Burn on Sunday 17th December – so if you’re planning a shopping trip to central Newcastle or MetroCentre please do take the train. Please also note the time of the return trains from MetroCentre have changed slightly; they will now leave at 11.25, 13.25, 15.25 and 17.25. Northern’s first Sunday service on 12th November was greeted with a welcome reception from SENRUG with Town Crier Alec Swailes in attendance, and a steam organ playing fair ground music for the whole morning (which attracted many people to the platform to find out what all the fuss was about) SENRUG wishes to thank Morpeth Co-op for donating the free mince pies and Express Taxis for letting us use their office for making teas and coffees. Special thanks also to Janet Macleod Trotter for baking her own cakes decorated with Northern’s logo, which impressed Wayne Dixon, Northern’s area manager present on the day. Meanwhile, SENRUG and RailFuture member Trevor Watson had been beavering away with Virgin, arguing that there were gaps in the timetable that would allow more Cross Country trains to stop at Morpeth. Again the result has been positive. Virgin Cross Country have announced a further 2 trains each way (bringing total to 4 on Monday to Fridays) will serve Morpeth from 10th December 2006. Virgin’s commitment to Morpeth was further demonstrated on 9th November when Brian Johnson, Cross Country’s Franchise Director was the guest speaker at SENRUG’s next public meeting, which attracted a record turn out of over 40 guests. Brian gave a brief history of the development of the Cross Country network, going right back to the days of the former regional companies before nationalisation under BR, then followed through with the developments initiated by Virgin since privatisation. Brian’s talk was followed by a lively question and answer session. Whilst all this has been going on, SENRUG have continued to plug away at the question of level access to Morpeth’s northbound station, and also re-opening the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne line. We can cautiously report positive developments on both of these fronts. With regard to the level access issue, SENRUG is in the process of obtaining quotes for the provision of a ramp, and also applying for grant funding to cover the costs. OK, you might think this is something the rail companies should be doing themselves, and we agree. But at the very least this step will help us to know how much money we are talking about, and if the grant application is successful we will of course be pressing the rail companies to proceed. As far as Ashington, Blyth & Tyne is concerned, Trevor Watson’s proposals for re-opening the line in managed phases has finally caught the attention of Northern Rail. Phase 1 is simply to extend the existing services that terminate at Morpeth down the line to re-opened stations at Choppington and Bedlington. This we believe can be done within the time currently allowed for the train to sit in the siding at Morpeth, and Northern Rail are now actively looking at it. True, it won’t serve Ashington, but if we can get this first phase working again, it will focus everyone’s attention on full scale re-opening to Ashington and quite possibly a new station at Woodhorn Museum as well, once people will see what can be done. Notwithstanding 2006 being a very positive year, the following 12 months will produce a number of challenges for SENRUG and rail passengers. First of all is the fact that whilst Virgin have been so responsive in seeing the case for a regular inter-city service from Morpeth station, the fact is their contract to run Cross Country expires in November 2007 and at present we don’t know who will be running the service after that. As the Morpeth stops are voluntary, it’s possible that the new operator – if not Virgin again – may reach a different conclusion about Morpeth and cut these stops. SENRUG tried in vain to get the DfT to specify a minimum number of Morpeth stops in the new franchise contract – but the best we have been able to achieve is a brief statement that some trains must call at some of the stations in Northumberland. We have also been making the case for Morpeth to the other bidders which are First Group, National Express and Arriva. Then there is the fact that GNER have hit major financial difficulties and have announced they can no longer afford to run the East Coast Main Line at the price they originally offered. Obviously, the DfT can not simply agree a lower price as this would be unfair to the other companies who spent millions of pounds producing a bid, but didn’t win as their price was lower than what GNER had promised. We understand (see The Times 27/11/06) the DfT will allow GNER to continue to run the service until they can repeat the bidding exercise – which could take as much as 2 years. The problem here for Morpeth users is that when the DfT let the franchise last time, they did not include a requirement for the evening northbound service from London which calls at Morpeth (the 17.30 from Kings Cross). On winning the Franchise, GNER announced they would honour this stop voluntary. Firstly then is the possibility GNER might now try to cut this train (ie terminate it at Newcastle) to save money, and secondly, once again we will have to fight the DfT to ensure the requirement is definitely included in the new franchise document it will now prepare, so we don’t loose it from 2008. So, once again, a positive year in 2006, but the possibility of much of our hard won improvements being lost in the next 12 months. We need to remain vigilant, and become a much stronger organisation. We desperately need to say we are speaking for more members, so if you or a friend would like to join SENRUG please send your name, address and email with a cheque for £5 (£2.50 unwaged) to Coral Patmore our Membership Secretary at 11 Campion Way, Ashington, NE63 8JG. Finally, as your new Chairperson from this summer, I would urge you to contact me with any suggestions for new campaigns, attracting new members and new funds, or offers of help. SENRUG members are welcome to all of our committee meetings, whether you are willing to serve on the committee or not. You can contact me by email on dennis.fancett@btopenworld.com or by phone on 01670 825500. The Committee would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Please do remember to use the Sunday trains for your Christmas shopping in Newcastle or MetroCentre. Dennis Fancett, Chairperson South East Northumberland Rail User Group
+	29 November 2006 Northern Rail Christmas Train Services & The Virgin Cross Country Service
	From Sunday, 12th November 2006, NORTHERN RAIL are introducing Sunday service Morpeth - Newcastle - MetroCentre, for 6 Sundays in the run-up to Christmas, following request from SENRUG. This is mainly aimed at the Christmas shopping market both in Central Newcastle and at MetroCentre. There is free parking at Morpeth and Cramlington stations, so travelling by train will avoid the need to find parking in central Newcastle or to face long queues exiting MetroCentre's car park. These trains will be particularly handy for access to MetroCentre on Sunday 17th December, when the A1 is closed, and they can also be used to travel to Morpeth for its Farmers Market on 3rd December. SENRUG understands there will be 4 trains each way per day, leaving Morpeth at 10.30, 12.35, 14.35 and 16.35, with last return from MetroCentre at 17.20. However, times should be confirmed directly with Northern before travel. From Monday, 11th December 2006, VIRGIN CROSS COUNTRY double the number of Mon- Fri inter-city stops at Morpeth, following request from SENRUG. From this date, Virgin Cross Country will have 4 daily departures each way from Morpeth station on Monday to Friday, creating an even wider range of travel opportunities for both business and leisure travellers. The new services mean there are a greater range of inter-city trains throughout the day, including an evening return to Morpeth from Newcastle at 21.40. It means SENRUG is making good progress towards its objective of having an inter-city departure from Morpeth in each direction every 2 hours. Dennis Fancett, chairman of SENRUG, commented: "These 2 positive developments, one from Virgin and one from Northern, prove that campaigning really does make a difference. We have a constructive relationship with both companies and they are willing to listen to us when we say there are people living in South East Northumberland who will travel by train if only there are sufficient appropriate services. We commend both companies for the initiatives they are taking and encourage everyone to take the train for their journeys where possible and practical. If car parking and petrol charges are taken in to account, train is often cheaper and offers a stress free environmentally friendly alternative to road congestion."
+	18 September 2006 Minutes of SENRUG meeting, 18.9.06
	Present: Dennis Fancett (Chair), John Earl(Secretary), Ken Allott, Gordon Barclay. Apologies: Janet Mcleod Trotter, Ronald Hunt, Nic Best, Colin and Coral Patmore. Minutes for the meeting on 11.05 were accepted. AGM – general feeling was that it was good, but that audience was a bit thin on the ground. John – Paul Salveson did not seem to mind, and the good thing about having him and others up to speak is that we establish a personal relationship which has proved to be very useful in the past and will no doubt go on being so. Next meeting – with Brian Johnson of Virgin on November 9th. Dennis was determined to try and ensure a better audience by inviting members from other local Rail User Groups and local councillors. Gordon said he would tackle Rail User Groups, and Dennis would ask Nic Best if he could approach local councillors in Morpeth. He felt that after the recent successful meeting with County leaders at the Woodhorn Experience, he could rely on contacts with John Nicholson, John Smith and David Laux at county for a start, and see whether they could encourage others to come along. We decided not to have a paid advert this time. Matters arising from meeting on 11.05.06: Dennis was disappointed that Northern were not getting back to us so far on the detailed points from January`s meeting, but we thought we would wait until after the “curry event” on the 27th Sept. when we would meet the Northern officers concerned to find out if there was any further progress. It was felt that we should support Brian Johnson of Virgin on his statement that he would bid for some of the £300m of available money for station refurbishment for the NE, particularly our stations. John thought it would be a good idea to cost Trevor`s plans for a ramp on the northbound platform so that at least we could have a figure to wave at the accountants – Ken thought that the whole amount would need to be taken into consideration, including the lift to the southbound side. Dennis stated that his campaign to get cheaper deals from Morpeth as well as Newcastle had borne fruit insofar as the RPC had got the designation of the ticketing area changed to “Newcastle and connections” as from the January 2007 fare revision. John thought that this was good news that we should publicise – the anomaly where you are paying £27 from Newcastle and £110 from Morpeth for the same trip to London should disappear. Ronald Hunt`s idea of having a permanent display in Bedlington Community Centre was thought to be a good idea. We agreed to buy boards to mount the display. The Blyth and Tyne building at Morpeth was sold at auction for £255,000 at the beginning of September – there are rumours that it might be a funeral parlour(!). What happened to the publicising of the M17 and other bus routes as travel connections to the station? Nothing so far, so Dennis will take this up with Richard Walters, the new Transport officer at County, when he meets him soon. Planning of AGM – it was felt that as planned, there was not an awkward “gap” in the middle of this year`s meeting, so we felt the whole thing went more smoothly. Financial matters – we had £580 in the kitty as opposed to the £760 we had the year previous. John says that Luke will wait for payment for the website until we have the necessary, but meanwhile it is obvious that we are not making enough for publicity. John suggested we explore avenues for local grant funding, and Gordon suggested a rise in subscriptions. The latter was felt to be a last resort only. We have 70 members, of whom 9 have not renewed – Dennis said he would write personally to these. Mentioned also that we need an itemised financial statement, and would contact Colin on this. Also called for fundraising ideas. For a start, Dennis said he would write to Dave Pope of the Morpeth Chamber of Trade and ask for support from their members, to whom it was felt we had brought benefits. Meeting at Woodhorn. Discussions with County leaders had been positive. Dennis mentioned that he was particularly impressed with the way they were linked to specific people so that they had the opportunity to make contacts. Similar “good vibe” reported from Coral and Colin. We need to get the ABT leaflet done. Dennis to talk to Richard Hilton about layout. Website. Can we get an online survey up and running on the ABT with questions such as – “How often would I make a journey?/What journeys would I make ?” Could we get Chairman`s photo on front page? John to talk to Luke. Northern Rail services – mentioned above. GNER current crisis. Dennis would write to GNER, on the back of Ken`s letter last year. Facilities – No word yet on tannoy or electronic indicator boards. Dennis would talk to Richard Walters at forthcoming meeting. Morpeth booking office has had to close again because of staff exhaustion mainly – Mrs. Greener was doing it all by herself! Dennis to bring this up with Northern- apparently ticket sales were such as to warrant an extension of this facility. Dennis would also mention the extraordinary efforts of Betty Greener to keep things running, and how much we appreciated this. Any Other Business: John mentioned that we needed to kickstart the Manors theme again – mentioned a few contacts he might have in that regard, and with Carol Dixon`s help, would see whether he could further this campaign. Agreed. Dates for future meetings: Thurs. 9th November- Brian Johnson, Virgin. Mon. 5th February – Committee meeting, Ken`s House Thurs. 15th March – Speaker – Tynedale Community Rail to be confirmed. Thurs.12th July -AGM All meetings in the Morpeth Methodist Church unless indicated otherwise.
+	09 June 2006 SENRUG Newsletter 6
	SENRUG STOPS MORE TRAINS! Virgin CrossCountry Trains have agreed to stop their last northbound evening train at Morpeth. During the week this will be the 14:25 p.m. from Plymouth, which arrives at Newcastle at 21:40 p.m. and should reach Morpeth by 21:57 p.m.. They will also stop the late evening trains on Saturday and Sunday. Our thanks go to Trevor Watson and to Brian Johnson, the Franchise Director for VXC Trains. Last year Trevor noticed that there was space in the schedule to stop these late evening trains. He asked Brian Johnson if Virgin could stop these trains. They had met on Morpeth station last December, when greeting the first Virgin train to arrive. These new services will run from December 2006, though the times might vary slightly. Also, they are subject to Network Rail approval. This is great news. It will provide us with a better cross-country service, a later train from Newcastle and a late evening train to Alnmouth, Berwick and Edinburgh. This will enable people to spend the early evening in Newcastle or to catch a later train from London, and still get back to Morpeth by train. The new Virgin trains at Morpeth are a great success; passenger numbers have doubled since they started only three months ago. CHATHILL SERVICE SAVED! A success, more good news. There will be no cuts to either our local trains or stations. Thank you to everybody who wrote to their MP or local councillor. Thanks to Denis Murphy MP for his Early Day Motion, and to all the other local MPs who signed it. Without your help things might have been very different, but all the political pressure has worked. The Northern Service Review was published on Wednesday 22nd March, later than initially promised but sooner than expected, perhaps because there was no bad news to announce before the local elections in May. Derek Twigg, the Undersecretary of State for Transport, announced "that service patterns will not change as a result of this review" and that "the current level of subsidy is also unaffected". Congratulations go to Northern Rail, as the review found that "the franchise operates efficiently". It might seem unkind to carp, but was this review a waste of money? Did the review really cost £300,000? Why did the Department for Transport need a review only six months after they had drawn up and awarded the franchise? Did they get the specification wrong in the first place? All the review could suggest was that ticket prices could be "optimised" i.e. raised, which might bring in £2 or £3 million. Fortunately, they saw that this "would come at the cost of a large negative net economic benefit" by which I think they mean passengers would desert the trains in droves. MORPETH STATION LEASE FINALLY AGREED SENRUG understands that the lease on the remaining space in Morpeth station has been taken up for a restaurant. This is good news, as the space in this Grade 1 listed building has been gradually deteriorating over the years, with roof tiles missing and water coming in. With the taxi office already in the building, and the Northern booking office working during the mornings until 12.40, this will extend the working day for the station, and it will be a well-lit and much more attractive place in the evenings, making it a much better place for those who want to catch trains late at night. This is a step in the right direction, but SENRUG still wants to see the booking office working throughout the day, and we are continuing to talk to Northern about this as well as the continuing problem of no access for buggies and the disabled to the Northbound platform. We are also keeping an eye on the buildings opposite, owned by Network Rail and of great historic interest, being the only remaining buildings of the famous Blyth and Tyne Railway. We hope that a similarly good conclusion will be reached to that long-running saga. GOOD OFFERS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT The Secretary of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Railway, who came to speak to SENRUG on the 16th March, told us that there was a “round robin” ticket available from Newcastle for only £35. This would give you a good day out on this most spectacular of railway lines, returning via Leeds. A pity this is not widely advertised, as it is a considerable saving on the ordinary tickets. Talking of cheap deals, GNER had announced that the Railrover ticket could not be accepted on their trains earlier this year. SENRUG was on to this as soon as it was reported by member Richard Hilton. Sustained pressure by Ken Allott, SENRUG Chairman, ensured that GNER withdrew this ridiculous and unfair ban immediately. Did you know that the M17 bus from Lancaster Park goes past the railway station in Morpeth? It will drop you there for £1, a considerable saving on the taxi fare, and a convenient way to avoid using the car – just as well with parking now at a premium! It connects with most of the morning trains to Newcastle. ASHINGTON BLYTH TYNE LINE SENRUG continues to be disappointed with the County Council`s lukewarm support for this line, which they made the case for enthusiastically only a few years ago. Despite SENRUG having secured a review of the cost of reinstatement which is far below that originally quoted, the County has decided not to put it into their latest Local Transport Plan. Meanwhile, Railfuture is still fighting for it on the national level, which makes NCC`s position even less acceptable. This is a very achievable project, it is right in line with the green targets the Council is supposed to meet, and it would make Northumberland look forward-looking and dynamic, bringing us into line with other regions such as Scotland and Wales where such projects are embraced enthusiastically. Come on Northumberland, what happened to the spirit of George Stephenson? We should still be leading the way on rail! Membership Enquiries – Visit our Join Now page or Contact…………… Coral Patmore 11 Campion Way Ashington NE63 8JG
+	20 March 2006 More Virgin Trains to stop at Morpeth thanks to SENRUG
	Last December, Virgin Trains stopped at Morpeth for the first time. Now Virgin Trains have agreed that from next December their last train north from Newcastle, the 14:25pm from Plymouth, will also stop at Morpeth. This train leaves Newcastle at 21:40pm and should reach Morpeth at 21:53pm. It also stops at Alnmouth and Berwick These times are approximate, and may vary slightly. Virgin Trains have also agreed to stop their late evening train on Saturday and Sunday. These late trains will be very useful, enabling people to catch later trains from London or to spend the early evening in Newcastle. Last year SENRUG member, Trevor Watson studied the Virgin Trains timetable and noticed that there was time in the schedule for the last Virgin CrossCountry Train north from Newcastle to stop at Morpeth. When the Franchise Director for Virgin Trains, Brian Johnson, came to Morpeth to greet the first train, Trevor Watson asked him to consider stopping this train. Virgin Trains have now agreed. Ken Allott Chairman, SENRUG
+	15 March 2006 Committee Meeting Minutes held on 26th January 2006 at 75 Low Stobhill, Morpeth.
	Attended by: Guests from NORTHERN RAIL: Steve Butcher (Area Director North) and Kathryn O’Brien (Client & Stakeholder Manager) SENRUG: Ken Allott (Chair), Dennis Fancett (Vice Chair) and 8 further Senrug members 1. Introduction a) Senrug Chairman Ken Allott opened the meeting and thanked the guests from Northern Rail for coming, and welcomed the other Senrug attendees. It was agreed that the format of the meeting would be that Senrug would raise issues which they wished to discuss with Northern Rail. Other Senrug business would be held over until after the Northern Rail representatives were obliged to leave. b) Steve Butcher said he welcomed the opportunity to hear issues first hand from Senrug members. He advised his responses would be open and realistic. In other words, where there was no chance something would happen, he would say so. But where it appeared a business case could be made, this would be taken way and investigated. 2. Northern Rail Review. It was noted that Senrug had mounted a vigorous campaign against the suggestion, rumoured to be part of the Northern Review, that local services north of Newcastle be withdrawn, and Wansbeck MP Denis Murphy had tabled an Early Day Motion on the subject. Steve explained that Northern Rail were not privy to the details of the review, but there is a requirement for them to be consulted once the Review is published. He confirmed the earlier statement (from Northern Stakeholder Conference) - that Northern are seeing passenger growth on all routes - includes specifically the Newcastle – Morpeth – Chathill route (ie statistics did not average this route in with others). 3. Level Access to Northbound Platform at Morpeth station. a) It was noted this issue affects not just disabled passengers, but also those travelling with prams, pushchairs and luggage on wheels. There was general acknowledgement that Morpeth is an important station now served by 3 TOCs (Train Operating Companies), and that level access to all platforms would be ideal. Steve explained the station is technically owned by Network Rail, though Northern manages it. b) Steve took away detailed engineering proposals as to how level access could be achieved via ramps to existing subway prepared by one Senrug member. It was noted there are also other options, eg create pedestrian access across dis-used sidings to the side road running parallel to northbound platform, or create pedestrian access from the far end of northbound platform to road at level crossings just outside the station. c) Steve believed Northumberland County Council had indicated they had some money that could be used to fund this. He agreed to discuss it with NCC and report back to Senrug. d) Kathryn re-iterated that in the meantime, disabled travellers should book in advance with Northern’s disabled travellers helpline, and suitable arrangements would be made for them (typically, taxi from Newcastle). The informal practice of allowing disabled passengers to travel with the empty stock into the siding and then alight on the southbound platform once the train starts its southbound journey was also noted. 4. Help Point at Cramlington Senrug reported this was not working and had not been working for over a year. It had previously been reported several times both to Northern and to their predecessor, Arriva, by Senrug members present at the meeting. The fact that it is still not working did not therefore stack up well with Heidi Mottram’s (MD Northern Rail) assertion at the Northern Stakeholder Review Meetings that Help Points were included in the frequent station facilities checks and faults reported and corrected. Steve reported he was very embarrassed to hear about the situation at Cramlington and would investigate. 5. Passenger Information at Morpeth a) Senrug pointed out that Morpeth, the largest station on the line, had neither Help Point (working or not), nor any form of PA or visual indicators of train running. When the station is staffed (mornings only), the Northern staff member is very helpful and has, on occasions, walked along the platform to ensure all waiting passengers were informed of operational delays. However, this can not cover the northbound station, nor times when the station is not staffed. b) It was reported the situation could be quite dangerous. For instance, on one occasion, when unknown to waiting passengers all GNER services were running an hour late, passengers mistook the earlier non-stopping GNER service for the train that would stop, and moved forward to board the train, almost causing an accident. c) It was noted there were a number of ways the situation could be improved: A public address system, with announcements made remotely from a Northern Control Centre, from Newcastle Station, or from the adjacent signal box Television screens, with information updated automatically / remotely A Help Point telephone connection, for passengers to make enquiries as they needed to. (This could have buttons for the 3 TOCs, Network Rail [eg line obstructed], and British Transport Police) A computer terminal in the office of the waiting room (locked when station is unstaffed) but showing through the window, permanently connected to the live train running departure board web-page. A similar system exists at Morpeth bus station. Some software is needed to ensure the system auto-updates every few minutes, and to remove the time default to the screensaver. The creation of the “**2” facility to access Northern control free of charge from the public payphone near the station, and promotion of this facility (needs different design of phone box). d) Senrug stressed that whilst the “full” solutions (i) and (ii) were infinitely preferred, options (iii), (iv) and (v) were all considered low cost and that the absence of any of these is really inexcusable. e) Steve reported that, as with point (2), he believed NCC may have some money to fund a passenger information scheme. He said Northern would look at options and costs and discuss with NCC, then report back to Senrug. f) Steve also reported a case was currently under consideration to extend the opening hours of Morpeth station, on a trial basis. Senrug responded such a move would be warmly welcomed (providing not just information and ticket sales, but also toilet and waiting room facilities which are currently locked whilst the station is unstaffed). However, it did not in itself overcome the need for passenger information, as even the extended opening hours under discussion would not cover first train to last train 7 days a week. g) Kathryn reported the facility to obtain train running information via text to a mobile phone. (Footnote: this facility is little known. Could it be advertised please through posters on the platforms, along with costs for making and receiving the text calls?) 6. Morpeth and Cramlington: Station signage At Morpeth there is insufficient signage, and at Cramlington there is none, showing which platforms are for which direction. This is particularly an issue at Morpeth since the station lies on an east-west plain whereas services run north-south, so it is less obvious to unfamiliar passengers which side of the line they should be on. Northern Rail agreed they would investigate this. 7. Morpeth and Cramlington: Car parking. a) Senrug reported car-parks at both stations were now regularly full and requested they be extended, using adjacent railway land. Although there was some discussion as to whether car parking charges should be introduced, the consensus was that this would be a retrograde step, for the following reasons: Charges would have to be set high enough to return a margin over and above the cost of operating the scheme, and such charges would be a deterrent. Neither stations have bus services pulling in to the station turning circle – nearest bus stops are some distance away. (Footnote: although Senrug will campaign for better bus access to local stations.) Neither station is close to the town centre and it was accepted that the cars parked at the station were there on rail business (ie not parking for town centre shopping). It was suggested that free parking was a unique selling point for the local train operator. The Northern return fare to Newcastle is currently cheaper than the cost of a day’s parking in the centre of Newcastle. Should this not be the case, passengers would find it more advantageous to drive all the way to Newcastle, losing business to Northern Rail. b) Steve agreed that Northern would look at what scope there is to improve car parking at both stations. 8. Timetable Issues 8.1 Timetable gaps Senrug asked Northern to investigate whether they could eliminate the gaps in what is otherwise an hourly service on the line, without jeopardising the existing Chathill trains (the gaps have arisen due to the need for the train stock to form the Chathill service). Gaps occur as follows: Southbound from Morpeth between the 09.32 and 10.50 Southbound from Morpeth between the 16.50 and 18.32 (partly plugged by the 17.26 Virgin service, but Cramlington has no service between 16.58 and 18.40) 8.2 Station gaps Senrug pointed out that if the 06.00 Newcastle to Chathill stopped at Cramlington., it would create not just an early morning service from Cramlington to Morpeth, but also a connection at Morpeth or Alnmouth from Cramlington to the 06.43 GNER service to Edinburgh and Glasgow. 8.3 All day stopping at Manors a) Currently, only a handful of trains stop at Manors, mainly morning southbound and evening northbound, to serve commuters. Senrug pointed out: Manors station is situated in an area experiencing significant commercial redevelopment, with increasing white-collar commuting. Commuters no longer work regular 9-5 patterns. One Senrug member worked half-days near Manors but could not use the station for her return journey. Call centres etc now have shifts patterns spread throughout the day. Manors is closer than Central Station for Quayside area, Millennium Bridge, Baltic and Sage. Manors offers a better interchange with Metro for those travelling to the Coast via Wallsend. b) Senrug therefore suggested that all services stop at Manors. Steve responded that Northern did have an incremental charge based on the number of trains using a station, and that the additional station dwell time may not be possible from a timetabling perspective, but he noted the points Senrug had made and agreed to investigate whether there was a case for more trains to stop at Manors. 8.4 Clock-face Departures a) It was agreed that regular clock-face departures help passengers become aware of train times and potentially increase patronage. Senrug pointed out that following the last timetable revision, Northern had virtually achieved this for departures from Morpeth and Newcastle. There are now only a few exceptions: Northbound from Newcastle. Between 10.15 and 17.15 all trains at xx.15 except 13.03 Northbound from Cramlington: As above plus 12.26, 16.28 and 17.28 rather than xx.27 b) Outside the core day-time period, issues affecting clock-face departures are covered at point 8.1 8.5 Connections at Newcastle Senrug asked Northern to consider synchronising departures from Newcastle to be just after arrivals from Carlisle and Hexham (footnote: or even joining the services together). 8.6 Evening Trains Senrug pointed out that Northern lost the evening out in Newcastle City market, as there are no suitable return services to Northumberland, the last Northern train leaving Newcastle at 18.30. Intercity passengers returning after this time are tempted to drive from Northumberland to Newcastle (resulting in loss of local connection to Northern), since the bus station is a mile from the rail station, making returning to Northumberland by bus a further complication. [There is an evening GNER service at 20.29 and a Friday only service at 22.08 to Morpeth and Alnmouth, but no other evening rail services] 8.7 Sunday Trains Northern stated there was no possibility of them providing a Sunday service unless they received funding to do so. Senrug acknowledged this, but asked how much it would cost to provide, for instance, a single train service between Morpeth and Metrocentre (ie cost of train and crew) for the whole day. It was felt that with a single train and crew, a service frequency of every 75 minutes, if not every hour, could be achieved. Senrug stated that if they knew the annual funding Northern would need, it would enable them to campaign more intelligently with bodies who might be in a position to make the funding available, eg Northumberland County Council. 9. Operational Issues Senrug suggested that when the 07.22 southbound service from Chathill (due Morpeth 08.00) is running 30 minutes late or more, the stock to form the 08.30 service from Morpeth, waiting in the siding from about 08.10, should be released to travel to Newcastle early. Thus passengers from Morpeth and stations further south would only have a 10 minute delay, rather than 30 minutes plus. Those passengers arriving for the 08.30 departure would instead join the late-running 08.00 service from Chathill. Northern acknowledged this appeared to make sense and agreed to investigate further. 10. Promotion of Services Senrug pointed out that despite Heidi Mottram announcing the 2 for 1 travel to Metrocentre offer at the Northern Stakeholder’s Conference, it had not been promoted widely in the Northumberland region and many people were unaware of it. Senrug had requested more details from Northern via email before Christmas but no clarification had been forthcoming. Senrug also said that if they were advised of details of similar offers, they could themselves promote it in their own emails, leaflets, and at libraries etc, in the same way as they had produced a joint GNER-Virgin timetable to promote inter-city services. Steve noted these points and said they would be passed to Northern’s Marketing Director, Joanna Thompson. Kathryn pointed out that the Metrocentre offer had been promoted and funded by Metrocentre, not by Northern, but agreed it was a pity that people living near to stations with a direct and regular train service to Metrocentre had not been made aware. It was noted there was no regular direct bus service from stations along the line to Metrocentre. 11. Station Adoption In response to a question raised by Senrug, Kathryn confirmed the Station Adoption scheme was still in operation, and agreed to provide Senrug with details. (There had been some confusion as to whether Northern were continuing the scheme, immediately after their take-over of the franchise). 12. Belford It was noted the Chathill service continues to the siding at the former Belford station in order to turn round. Potential passengers at Belford were pushing for construction of a platform alongside the siding to enable them to board and alight the train, effectively re-opening the station. There was tacit agreement that this made common sense, if the money could be found. 13. Conclusion a) On behalf of Senrug, Ken Allott warmly thanked Steve Butcher and Kathryn O’Brien for coming, and in particular for agreeing to stay on longer than had been envisaged. He stated he looked forward to a response to those issues Northern had taken away, and hoped they would not simply be lost now the meeting had taken place. b) As this part of the meeting had extended longer than expected and other Senrug members also had to leave, it was agreed all other Senrug matters would be held over to the next meeting (date to be advised), and Ken formally closed the meeting and thanked everyone for coming. End (Minutes Taken By Dennis Fancett)
+	14 March 2006 Minutes of Senrug meeting, 2nd March 2006
	Present: Ken Allott, Dennis Fancett, John Earl, Coral and Colin Patmore, Trevor Watson, Freda Lander. Apologies: Janet McLeod Trotter, Nic Best, Gordon Barclay. 1. Dennis read through the main points of the minutes of the last meeting, when Northern were present – disabled access, parking, signage, timetable gaps, operational point on Chathill timings, promotion of services to Belford. Dennis had had approval for the points and “warm” correspondence from Northern, who had expressed appreciation for Senrug`s “sensible” approach to the issues. Dennis will keep talking to them about the minutes and pressing for a full response, so far not forthcoming. 2. Correspondence – Joy Wight had written to Alistair Darling via Denis Murphy. Some issues had been referred to Northern, otherwise a rather general reply from Derek Twigg. Ken recommended the route to Alistair Darling and the Department for transport