Gilsland Station meeting with Trains Minister Paul Maynard - positive steps forward on a long journey to a rebuilt station

This week in Westminster I sat down with Paul Maynard the Trains Minister to discuss the Gilsland Station rebuild project. This follows on extensive discussions with Network Rail and Northern rail. As everyone at the Campaign to Reopen Gilsland Station [COGS] knows this is a long journey. The many steps along the way can be charted here:
http://www.gilsland-station.org.uk/
But the overall objective is keenly supported by locals, by the train company who would like to see it happen, local MPs and more and more of the key stakeholders.
The problem as always has been the cost. If one approaches this from a requirement for a state of the art, brand new station with everything attached then the original Network Rail report of £28 million + is clearly a big ask in these straightened times. However, I have been impressed by the way in which Network Rail and Northern Rail are trying to come up with innovative, and potentially more cost effective, solutions to a tough problem.
I meet again with these two organisations shortly and there is a germ of a good plan that we are working on.

We need to bolster the business case and show that the usage is there to justify the taxpayers money - whatever that sum is going to be. Critical to this is the enhanced use of the area by 4 key things:
- increased service of Gilsland as a critical hub for the two walks that meet right next to it - namely Hadrian's Wall and the Pennine Way, + the greater cycling use of the area
- the impact of the tens of thousands of extra visitors who will arrive by reason of the Sill Project that opens in the summer. How do we add to their visitor experience and increase their time in Hadrian's Wall country, with particular reference to all the diverse Heritage assets that are close by the station site?
- and the potential to support business and regeneration of the area of West Northumberland and East Cumbria that has clearly struggled under successive governments for generations
- and numbers as to the fundamental greater usage of the Tyne Valley railway, and the new station itself, to justify Northern Rail and the other support agencies getting behind the project.
We have recently met Heritage Lottery and engaged with the Northumberland Tourism Team and the Borderlands project are also supportive so I am hopeful that we are building up steam - if you forgive the pun. The critical issue is this - can we build a station at a reasonable cost that does the job without breaking a limited bank account? That is what we are seeking to do. Paul can definitely help and, whilst the devil is in the detail, he is very supportive and is taking this to the highest levels of the train food chain. I will update more after I have met with Northern and Network Rail in a couple of weeks time.

Thanks to Trains Minister Claire Perry for coming to support Gilsland Station reopening Project

Great meeting, full of positive energy and a lot of progress made on a long journey. This was the first chance to get Network Rail, Northern Rail, the key councillors from Northumberland County Council, the Tyne Valley Rail Users Group, and the leaders of the COGS [Campaign to Open Gilsland Station], and the BBC all together both outside the proposed station, and then inside the warm of the Samson Inn. My thanks to everyone who came, and the BBC team who stayed to film for Look North in the cold. A lot of the people present had come a long way whether from York or Morpeth to come and listen, learn and see how they could help. For some people it was their first chance to see why this unique project will have so much of a tourist and economic impact, as well a huge impact on transport infrastructure locally. I have to thank the locals wo are driving this project forward. They are too numerous to name but the tireless and ever smiling Alison and Julie should be praised in particular.
These meetings are no a magic wand. But they are priceless for their ability to bring everyone together behind a shared vision. Really grateful to the team from Network Rail and Northumberland County Council for coming, and their positive approach. And thanks to Claire who travelled up by train from London specially to go to Carlisle, Newcastle and Gilsland.  

Pleased to be welcoming Claire Perry MP, Trains Minister, to Northumberland Thursday

My plan is to take Claire to meet the team behind Gilsland Station on the Cumbria Border and see why the COGS campaign is worth backing. Precise details of the trip are still being worked upon but I am liaising with key local stakeholders as we sort the details of the trip, when she gets in from Carlisle, and how long we will have Claire with us in Gilsland; not least of our decisions is which train she is going on!
Gilsland details are here: http://www.gilsland-station.org.uk/

I have my "ticket" to Gilsland Station - it will happen in time, and progress is being made!

I literally bumped into Julie Gibbon last week. She is a tireless campaigner for the Campaign to Open Gilsland Station, and I was able to get my "ticket" to Gilsland Station.
This project is slowly moving forward, with assistance from Northumberland County Council, as we endeavour to fundraise the £30,000 to get to GRIP Stage 3 of the Network Rail process for Station Rebuilds. There is a large amount of support locally, and in the 2 local authorities, and I cannot praise Julie and the team at COGS enough - they are doing a great job. This project will happen eventually. We are pictured in the Bardon Mill Village Store and Tea Room - my usual Bardon Mill lunch pit stop.