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Written by Julie Gibbon, 2006
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Page 3 of 3  Bardon Mills WI members Julie Gibbon (with the shopping bag), Irenee Cowans (centre) and Jennifer Merritt wait for a train at the local station they helped to save from closure. Julie Gibbon belongs to Bardon Mill WI and is the secretary of the Tyne Valley Rail Users' Group.
In September 2005 rumours started that our village railway station in the beautiful South Tyne Valley, close to the Roman fort of Vindolanda and the glorious central section of Hadrian’s Wall, might close. At first I thought this was poorly informed scaremongering as I, and other members of the Tyne Valley Rail Users Group (TVRUG) were, and indeed still are, actively involved in discussions with the train operating company to increase the number of trains stopping at Bardon Mill and other stations on the Tyne Valley line.
The source of the rumour and newspaper articles turned out to be an as yet unpublished draft report from the Strategic Rail Authority. Those ‘in the know’ agreed that cuts in services and station closures were a real prospect and this was definitely not scaremongering.
We had a fight on our hands, but because none of the reports was in the public domain, we had no evidence to present to people. As a group interested in promoting the use of our local railway we had found it difficult to believe it ourselves, so how on earth were we going to engage others to campaign to save our services and stations?
We had grave concerns that these cuts might happen in the same way as others in the region where a new timetable was prepared: the cuts were announced, and when the public complained they were told it was too late to do anything as the timetable had been already been agreed.
Letters and flyersAs individuals we set about writing to MPs for the areas where we both lived and worked. We contacted all the members of TVRUG (about 60 at the time) and put out flyers asking people to write to their MP, Councillors, employers and anyone who would be affected by the closure of most of Northumberland’s rural stations. I mobilised Bardon Mill WI whose members rallied to the campaign, writing not only to our MP and the Secretary of State for Transport, but to the Prime Minister himself.
Over the coming months we asked people to continue to write letters and we noticed that the tone of replies was changing. They were beginning to listen. Then one of the Bardon Mill WI ladies suggested putting forward a resolution to the Northumberland Federation at the Spring Council meeting. Hastily we followed all the necessary procedures, carefully considered the wording and put forward the motion: “This meeting calls on WI members to campaign against the closure of railway stations and any cuts in rail services in Northumberland.”
Details were sent round the institutes in the federation prior to the Council meeting and I was asked to prepare a speech for the motion. It was a challenging task hindered by our local train operator who accused us of being ill-informed and scaremongering. The day came and the theatre was packed with ladies from the 80 or so WIs in Northumberland plus members from adjoining federations and invited guests. After the Treasurer’s report came my two minutes. I delivered my piece, answered questions, then waited for the delegates to cast their votes. It was unanimous: everyone supported the motion.
The Northumberland Federation put their weight behind the campaign, writing letters and asking questions of MPs and local authorities. Then, after almost six months of campaigning, came the great news. The Parliamentary under Secretary for Transport reported: “In the light of these findings, and the growth which the franchise is currently experiencing, the Department has concluded that there is no compelling case for amending the current timetable or allocation of rolling stock. Service patterns will not change as a result of this review.”
So we had won, at least for the time being...
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