STAMFORD BRIDGE FAYRE JULY 8TH
Minsters Rail Campaign are proud to announce they will be sponsoring Professor Fiddlesticks at this event. He will be on stage at 14:30. for children of all ages.
MUM AND DAD TAXIS
According to the AA, 33% of parents spend between 10% and 49 hours a month acting as a taxi service for their children. And 10% reckon this is over 50 hours. Or put another way the equivalent of 25 days annual leave!
Whilst we do not have any local information we suspect many Wolds parents might recognise that the provision of a railway line, might go some of the way to cutting down the cost and time of operating mum and dad taxis. More information on the link below:
Mum and dad taxis
THE RAILWAY PUBLIC HOUSE,COTTINGHAM 10/04/12
The landlady of this excellent establishment has joined the Minsters Rail Campaign! So if you are in Cottingham please pop in for a drink,some food and occaisional live music.
http://officialpubguide.com/pubdetails.php?pubid=841
YORK MODEL RAILWAY SHOW 7TH-9TH APRIL
We have had a good three days at the York Model Railway Show meeting a lot of people and attracting new members. There were a number of questions raised, ideas offered and almost overwhelmingly positive support. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and to the MiRC members who manned the stall over the holiday period.
HUMBERSIDE LEP GRANT
Minsters Rail Campaign recently put in an 'Expression of Interest' for some funding from the Humberside Local Enterprise Partnership with the aim of updating the 2005 feasibility study. Unfortunately we have not been successful on this occasion as the scheme was primarily looking at capital schemes that would bring jobs and investment in the short-term rather than our scheme which is longer term.
MINSTERS RAIL AGM 24TH MARCH 2012
James Wilson of the MiRC’s latest sponsor Switzerland Travel Centre revealed to an excited AGM, that STC were donating a package which included a first class rail pass for Switzerland and first class travel by Eurostar. The MiRC will shortly announce the arrangements for a prize draw, which will include free entry into the draw for MiRC members. It is hoped that this competition will increase membership by a considerable amount.
Chairman George McManus thanked James and asked members to consider converting to ‘life membership’ to give a further boost to the MiRC’s fiund. The organisation is aware that funds are in short supply and the ability to put up some money into a forthcoming revamp of the 2005 Feasibility Study might persuade funding organisations of our serious intentions.
A discussion about campaigning for the year ahead saw York Area Coordinator David Wells calling for increased input from our membership including volunteering for events, delivering leaflets and processing information to increase our profile. The other key points were that the Campaign was aiming to move to a more professional basis with a twice yearly professional newsletter aimed at the general public which will be put together by Palm Group printers on behalf of the Campaign.
A full report on the 2012 AGM will appear in the next few weeks.
TRANSPORT VISION FOR YORK
York Outer MP and MiRC patron Julian Sturdy announced in an article in the York Press that he was organising a round table event called "Transport Vision for York". David Wells from the MiRC has been invited to attend this event - further details to follow.
YORK MODEL RAILWAY SHOW
We have a stall at the forthcoming York Model Railway Show on 7th-9th April (Easter weekend) which takes place in the main stand at the racecourse (Knavesmire).
ATOC PRESS RELEASE 27/02/12
Here is an interesting press release from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) which shows that the increasing numbers of young people are taking to the railways as motoring is too expensive. One day hopefully young people out in the Wolds will be able to take advantage as well but the lack of railways means they are tied to Mum and Dad taxis or occasional bus services for the foreseeable future.
Click on title to view link.
ADAM HART-DAVIS
In 2008 broadcaster Adam Hart-Davis made a film which featured the Minsters Line. In 2012 Adam kindly agreed to become a sponsor of the campaign. Adam stated
I support the campaign for the Minsters Railway Line, because the A1079 is a fearfully dangerous and busy road, and the train would not only take the strain, but also take passengers through some lovely countryside which they haven’t time to see from the road. What’s more, most of the course of the old line is still there; to build a new one would not be prohibitively expensive – equivalent to a few hundred metres of HS2 or Crossrail.
STAMFORD BRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL 16/02
David Wells of the MRC had a meeting with 3 of the parish councillors. They will report back to the next PC meeting and advise whether the PC supports the immediate aim of the MRC, which is to publish a second feasibility report (to update the 2005 report which is now out of date).
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When the feasibility report is published, we will discuss the findings with the council and look to work together on the next detailed stage.
We also discussed the possibility of a residents survey which is another idea we are currently developing.
NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL RAIL OFFICER
David Wells met with Graham North of NYCC primarily to discuss our views on Haxby station and Graham's role in developing a county wide joined up rail strategy.
CATTON SENIOR CITIZENS GROUP
David Wells of the Minsters Rail Campaign addressed 20 senior citizens in Low Catton village hall about the aims of the MRC, and how we might achieve them. Whilst the railway will not directly serve Catton, the station at Stamford Bridge will provide a vital link for many villages in the area. The MRC would like to thank Phil Rigby and the members of this group for their kind invitation. 16/02/12
HUMBERSIDE LEP GRANT
Minsters Rail Campaign have put in an 'Expression of Interest' for some finding from the Humberside Local Enterprise Partnership. If sucessful this money will be spent on updating the 2005 feasibility study.
MEETING WITH SWITZERLAND TRAVEL CENTRE 10/02/12
George McManus and David Wells met with James Wilson of Switzerland Travel Centre to discuss possible arrangements for sponsorship. More details will follow shortly, and information about Switzerland Travel Centre will be dispatched with our next newsletter.
MEETING WITH NETWORK RAIL 10/02/12
A short useful meeting was held with Network Rail's Senior Routes Planners for the East Coast Main Line and Yorkshire Wolds Coast line. The result of this will be a slight change of focus which will be discussed at the forthcoming AGM. The key issues will be to update the 2005 report and look more closely at the benefits a spur to Bridlington will bring.
POCKLINGTON ROTARY CLUB 31/01/12
Campaign Chairman George McManus and Treasurer Douglas Hope addressed the Pocklington Rotary Club on Tuesday 31st January. At a well attended meeting with some 40 members, George McManus spoke to the supportive audience for some 30 minutes before an extensive question and answer session. We will be adding written answers to some of these questions on our ‘Facts and FAQs’ page in the near future.
JANUARY 2012
Welcome to the new Minsters Rail Campaign website. We hope you can find all the information you require, although there are a few more things still to do, such as posting our constitution and loading the Carl Bro 2005 feasibility study to the site. You can find information about station sites on each of the relevant station tabs. There is information about Campaign's activities during 2012, on the ‘about the Campaign’ tab, and we have tried to answer all your questions on ‘Facts and FAQs’. If you have any other questions, drop us a line via the contact page, and we will try to answer them.
We are an active campaign, so building business and political support is vital to our success. If you know of any individuals or organisations that will be interested in supporting the campaign, then please contact the webmaster or GEORGE MCMANUS
If you are a member (£5 per year or £50 for life) then we will put your business name on our supporters' list on the front page, and provide a link on our 'links' page. If you are a corporate member we will provide an advert and link on our front page, direct to your website.
If there is anything you would like to see on the website, please write to the webmaster
A1079 ACTION GROUP
The Minsters Rail Campaign has been invited by the A1079 Action Group to discuss possible ways in which our campaigns might work to mutual benefit. The date is yet to be confirmed.
DO YOU LIVE CLOSE TO THE LINE?
We are looking for members and volunteers who would be prepared to help with leafleting, perhaps once or twice a year. If you are interested please contact the webmaster, or Chairman George McManus
