FOWS at the GMITA Transport Seminar

FOWS attended a seminar at Manchester Town Hall this week organised by GMITA. There were interesting presentations from other Friends groups in the area (FRECCLES, Handforth and the award-winning Friends of Glossop), Network Rail, GMITA, ACORP and Northern Rail.

As well as manning a small display on FOWS’ achievements at Walkden, it was a great opportunity to share ideas with friends, and build up our relationships with the rail industry.

Our representatives have come back with some great ideas picked up from other groups and we’ll be trying to get some of them off the ground shortly !

FOWS make the case for Walkden with Transport bosses and planners

Our Chairman Peter Aust has sent this report of his meeting with transport “top brass” and politicians – another example of how FOWS works, often behind the scenes, to secure improvements for Walkden station.

FOWS Chairman Peter Aust meeting Shadow Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP

Hello Friends, On Monday last in my capacity as Chair of FOWS I attended a seminar at Manchester Town Hall entitled ” The Future of Rail in the North. The Speakers were Stephen Hammond MP, Shadow Transport Minister Edward Timpson MP,Crewe & Natwich Councillor Ian Macdonald, Vice Chairman GMITA Paul Plummer, Director, Planning & Regulation, Network Rail It was ably chaired by TV Presenter Andy Crane.

There were plenty of discussions about the Manchester Hub (not just about Manchester) that is a major bottleneck on the rail network that negatively impacts on rail services for the whole of the North of England and the proposal of a high-speed line from London to Glasgow, which would include a stop at Manchester. It was fortunate that Cllr Iain Lindley who was in attendance highlighted to the panel the importance also of the issues concerning local rail stations such as Walkden, yes! Walkden got a mention!!

I had the chance to meet a few of the top brass and spread the word about FOWS, Tom Wadsworth, Communications Manager of Network Rail, Emma Pemberton-Eccles, Public Affairs Manager Network Rail and even a quick word and a photo opportunity with Stephen Hammond, MP, Shadow Transport Minister.

Meet The Manager – A “Thank You”

A quick “Thank You” to Northern Rail’s Chris Ingham and Peter Gedding for their “Meet The Manager” session at the station yesterday morning.

It’s great that Northern’s management are willing to come and meet the travelling public like this.

We understand not that many people took the chance to talk to Chris which is a great shame – he’s very approachable and genuinely interested passengers’ views. What’s more, if issues don’t get raised at events like this the “powers that be” in Northern HQ will be less likely to believe there are any major problems at Walkden.

Todmorden station gala – Sunday 20th Sept

Our friends at Todmorden are holding their annual station gala tomorrow (Sunday 20th Sept) from noon until 4pm.

The gala’s at Todmorden are renowned for their quirky atttactions and great fun, and this year’s gala will be focusing on the town’s “Incredible Edible Todmorden” campaign – yet another great idea from the clever people of the historic and characterful town.

According to the posters, this year’s gala also “Includes Ferrets” !

A visit is thoroughly recommended … full details are on their website.

Meet The Manager – next Tuesday

Next Tuesday morning (22nd September) Northern Rail’s Station Manager Chris Ingham will be at the station from 7.30 to 9.30 am to meet passengers and hear their (your !) views.

FOWS applaud Northern Rail and Chris for holding sessions like these, and encourage all station users to take advantage of the opportunity to meet Chris in person.

Whether you have suggestions for things you’d like to see improved, questions about how things are done, or comments on what’s good or bad about Northern’s service at Walkden, there’s no better chance to get your views across to Northern directly.

So … whether it’s disabled access, over-crowding, lack of Sunday services, station facilities … whatever bothers you about the service at Walkden, don’t miss this chance to have your say !

Music in the park

On Saturday 22nd August Parr Fold Park plays host to Walkden Youth Music Festival, with local indie band Gaza Strip Club headlining the bill.

The festival is on from 3pm to 7pm and free to enter. It promises to be a great event with live music returning to the old bandstand !

Parr Fold Park is just a couple of minutes walk from Walkden station.

Congratulations Marion !

Congratulations are due to Walkden’s very own Marion Bainbridge for being Highly Commended in the Frontline Employee Of The Year category at the National Transport Awards in London this week.

To achieve recognition at the highest national level, singled out from tens of thousands of staff working on bus, rail, plane and ferry services, is an incredible achievement !

We always knew we were lucky to have Marion in the Ticket Office at Walkden … now the whole country knows it too !

Cancer and Us

FOWS had the pleasure of spending an evening this week with Cancer And Us, a cancer support group based in the day centre at St Anns Hospice, Little Hulton.

We were made most welcome by the lovely folks there, and gave a short presentation about our work at the station. We were also able to talk with the members about some of the station’s main issues such the lack of access for disabled or mobility-impaired people.

Cancer And Us meet once a month, and also organises occasional days out and special events. If you are interested in learning more about the group you can visit their website where contact details can be found.

AGM minutes available for download

The minutes of the recent FOWS Annual General Meeting are now available for download from our website.

FOWS call for matching commitment from Northern/GMPTE at Annual General Meeting

The audience at last week’s FOWS Annual General Meeting heard speakers from GMPTE, GMPTA and Northern Rail give updates on their organisations efforts towards improving Walkden station.

The meeting opened with reports from FOWS Chair Peter Aust and Secretary Neil Stapleton which reflected on a busy and productive year for the group. However, the reports concluded that matching levels of commitment and improvements have not been seen from either station owners or operators, a failure that leaves the station with the same infrastructure problems as noted last year, and whose contrast with FOWS’ efforts is causing increasing frustration within the group.

A statement from local MP Barbara Keeley catalogued the considerable effort she has put into championing the station’s cause this year, including a series of meetings and communications with Heidi Mottram of Northern Rail and mentioning the station’s dire facilities in Parliament debates.

Steve Magner and Cllr Ian Macdonald from GMPTE and GMPTA respectively acknowledged the group’s frustration and advised more patience will be required. Whilst confident that improvements will be made to the station over the next few years, they could not commit to timescales or explain the criteria that has been used to exclude Walkden from the first batch of stations to receive GMPTA investment.

Chris Ingham of Northern Rail reported on the company’s improved reliability figures achieved during the last monitoring period but said Network Rail have still not reported back to Northern about the costs of re-opening the full length of platform, meaning there has been no tangible progress on this issue for 12 months.

Sunday services have been the topic of discussions between GMPTE and Northern Rail, but the estimated costs provided by Northern Rail to start the service in November are currently beyond GMPTE’s reach. Negotiations are continuing to explore ways of reducing the cost of the service.

Memberships for 2009 were renewed (it’s just £1 a year for anyone interested !) and several new members were welcomed to the group.