Friends of Collingham Station

Stop Press

From Jim Bamford,
Railway Development Officer, Notts County Council 29/11/07

Over the last 12 months the County Council has been negotiating with DfT and East Midlands Trains (EMT) to try to significantly increase the number of trains that call at Collingham. EMT are willing to do this, subject to two conditions
· closure of Cross Lane level-crossing, and
· assistance from the County Council in providing a proper car park at Collingham station.
I discussed this with County Councillor Vincent Dobson on 22nd November, who was very supportive, and last week I notified Collingham Parish Council of the situation. I have offered to come to Collingham to speak to the Parish Council if they wish.
I must stress that it is not yet certain what, if anything, will occur. In particular, taking this proposal forward will depend on
· discussions with the existing landowners re a possible car park - these have not yet taken place, and no assumptions should be made about what the landowners views might be,
· a planning application for a new car park, with all the usual provisions for public consultation,
· a Traffic Regulation Order to close Cross Lane to vehicular traffic, again with all the usual provisions for public consultation,
· discussions with Network Rail’s Area General Manager, Doncaster regarding Cross Lane, in particular to come up with a package whereby part of any savings NR might make at Cross Lane would be re-invested back into Collingham station and Swinderby Rd crossings
I will keep you informed as this develops.
Jim

Friends of Collingham Station

Collingham is a busy station, with the highest usage, apart from Newark Castle, on the line between Lincoln and Nottingham.  We came into being in 2005 when Central Trains cut the timetable savagely, which led to a packed public meeting in Collingham. As a result Central Trains not only reinstated the lost services but added more.

Our main roles are:
 •  to ensure that the station remains an attractive place, and also
 •  to campaign for an improved train service.

Successes so far:
 •  5 more trains every weekday compared with 2 years ago; and
 •  By December 2008 the number should increase further
 •  Collingham station formally adopted by our group
 •  Close links with Central Trains to sort out problems
 •  Involvement in franchise discussions.

For the future, we want to:
 •  get funding to put planters along the platforms, behind the fences,
 •  establish CCTV protection

 •  improve the train service, including to and from Newark Northgate.

Following the public meeting, a committee of volunteers was formed to ensure that the above issues are pursued.

Current members are:
 •  Bob Imrie (chair)
 •  Bob Poynter
 •  Viv Claxton (secretary)
 •  Jim Jackson
 •  Julie Shaw.

We are keen to increase the number of committee members (duties are not onerous – most discussions are by email!) particularly if you are a daily commuter (either to Nottingham or Lincoln).

If you have anything to report to us, whether about good or bad train performance or about damage to the station environment, do contact us:


Bob Imrie
Chair of Friends of Collingham Station

Address:   4 Rio Drive
Telephone:   893 799
Fax:     893 927
Email:    .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The launch of our station adoption:

The launch of our station adoption on the 8th September 2006 was a great success – the weather was good, and there were no heavy goods trains while the speeches were under way!

Jim Bamford (Notts County Council) said he was delighted that we had got this far, and he was hopeful of further developments – his feeling was that all trains should stop at Collingham.

Nigel Carlisle (Central Trains) said that his company was delighted to support Collingham, and although he couldn’t promise what Jim wanted, there would be gradual improvements, as the rest of the network improved.

Patrick Mercer MP congratulated us on our initiative and warned the rail companies that they upset Collingham at their peril. He said it was vital that communities kept up the pressure on government to ensure that decisions are made locally, not in London.

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