THE switch of operators of the Newcastle-Carlisle railway line from Northern Rail to Arriva in April should be seen as an opportunity by local communities.

“Shy bairns get nowt” was the message from the Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership when partnership officers met Hexham Town Council at its February meeting.

The question of compensation for delays occasioned by the prolonged closure of the line between Hexham and Prudhoe, and the possibility of parking charges at Hexham Railway Station being dropped to fit in with the rest of the town were both discussed.

Partnership officer John Gillot felt that while it was unlikely there would be free parking, as fees were required for the maintenance of the parking area, he felt there was a good chance of compensation being paid.

As well as changes in line operators, there have also being changes in the partnership itself, with Prudhoe’s Fiona Forsythe joining the Hexham based team of the partnership, initially in a job share with Mr Gillott to provide more officer time for the partnership.

Service expansion and new trains are in Arriva’s contract as are considerably more resources for community rail partnerships across the whole of the Northern franchise.

Fiona has been involved previously with the partnership and the railway. Since 2000 she has been the station adopter at Prudhoe, the second largest community along the line, and her background is in community and resource development.

She is a librarian by trade, and has always enjoyed linking the unexpected, something she says is a critical skill for a librarian as well as being able to find money!

Previous projects have included development work for visually impaired library users, project management with Creative Partnerships and, in the autumn of 2015, audience development work for English Heritage.

Growing up in a railway family in Glasgow, Fiona can demonstrate a life-long commitment to public transport.

She said: “My parents never owned a car; it was either walk, cycle or get on a train. I grew at a time when the railway industry had a strong internal sense of community, and as a kid loved competing at Railway Staff Association for Scotland competitions.

“Their horticultural show in the Palace of Arts, Bellahouston, was a magnificent event.”

It is that sense of community which Fiona wants to help foster along the Newcastle to Carlisle rail corridor.

The Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership has an ambitious action plan for the year ahead.

Building on previous work which includes folk and jazz events, the whistle stop pubs leaflet, campaigning for improved services from Blaydon and Dunston, and of course the partnership, developed with Dilston College to run the kiosk on Hexham Station, the focus this year will include developing cycling opportunities, supporting the campaign to re-open Gilsland Station, and developing links between the railway and Hadrian’s Wall.

In addition, the partnership has been awarded money to develop an education and young people’s project.

Fiona accepts there will be challenges ahead, for while there may be only one train operator, the Tyne Valley Line goes through four local authority areas and six Parliamentary constituencies.

She said: “Partnerships are always recruiting! In the Tyne Valley we need new faces willing to join our board who are interesting in marrying public transport and the community together.

“There are openings for young people too and anyone who wishes to build a portfolio in social media and can give us an hour or so a week should contact myself or John Gillott on tvcrp@hotmail.co.uk or 01434 607216”.