Rail chief to answer public’s questions

Jul 10 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

ARAILWAY chief is to meet a campaign group aiming to reopen a North East line to passengers in Northumberland.

The South East Northumberland Rail User Group (Senrug) will meet the managing director of National Express East Coast, David Franks, as it works to reopen the Ashington Blyth and Tyne line to passenger traffic.

But chairman Dennis Fancett said there were a number of other issues that would also be discussed at the meeting.

He said: “First of all, it is an opportunity for people who live in the area and use East Coast Main Line trains to bring to his attention any concerns and suggestions they may have.

“It is an opportunity for us to hear how they want to develop the franchise and he will be presenting those plans.

“I am not sure how much the North East features in those plans, so we might give him a nudge about that.

“The most important thing is that he is coming, which shows they are willing to engage with and listen to their customers.”

National Express took over the East Coast Main Line rail franchise from GNER last December.

Issues Mr Fancett said he expected to be discussed at the meeting include increasing the number of inter-city trains calling at Morpeth and an improvement to the station there.

He said: “We are also expecting things such as fares, ticketing, on-train facilities and connections to be raised, but overall we are delighted to be welcoming Mr Franks to our meeting and hope we can convince him there is a growing market for rail in the area.”

Although reopening the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne line remained an objective for the group, Mr Fancett said it would not be a priority of the meeting.

He said: “I am sure it will come up because the idea is causing a lot of excitement, but it might not be the best use of Mr Franks’s time to spend the whole meeting discussing that.”

A spokesman for National Express said: “A lot of regular rail passengers are very interested in knowing what National Express’s plans are and how things have been going.

“We recognise that it is important to have dialogue with stakeholders and our customers and people we serve.” The meeting starts at 7.30pm on Monday at the Methodist Church, Howard Terrace, Morpeth.

It will involve a presentation from Mr Franks followed by a question and answer session.

The meeting is open to everyone, including non-members of Senrug. For details visit www.senrug.co.uk