Printed and published by FOCS, 18 West Coker Hill, West Coker BA22 9DG

Check out our website at www.crewkernetown.org/friendsofcrewkernestation

Newsletter October 2016

Welcome to the Friends of Crewkerne Station We believe that the rail service is very important for sustainable transport, convenience of local residents and to the marketing of Crewkerne

Meetings:General, October 19th 7.30pm at the Old Stagecoach AGM, November 16th 7.30pm at the Old Stagecoach Open Day at the Station, December 10th 9.30am till 12.30

Blackmore Vale Community Rail Partnership We are part of 2 new groups. Firstly, the Blackmore Vale Community Rail Partnership, which consists of all stations including and between Tisbury and Crewkerne all of whom have active groups or Friends except Yeovil. It is promoting activities between the stations and various groups within the towns. Crewkerne hosted the first which was a Cream Tea at Haselbury Mill by the Over Fifties Club from Sherborne. There have been a couple of board meetings to ratify a Constitution and start a plan of action. Notice Boards and leaflets are being designed and funding partnerships sought. ABCD and the Town Council have been supportive. The Chairman and Secretary have represented FOCS at these meetings.

Station Volunteers The Station Volunteers are pleased with the planting strategy this year. The bulbs, planted in layers according to season, and the wall-flowers, performed well and were followed by summer flowering of brightly coloured Pelargoniums, Verbena, Allyssum and various other plants. You may have noticed the exotic looking dark Aeonium on the down platform. Bulbs are ready to go in for spring flowering. Moss clearing continues. We are hopeful that the banks will be strimmed this season.

Friends of Crewkerne Station, FOCS

What can YOU do to help? Renew your subscription now, or join us for the coming year. We ask for a subscription of £10 if you can, or £5 for those who cannot. Join the group of volunteers who are meet regularly on Thursday mornings at 10.30am Come to a planning meeting at the Old Stage Coach Inn on a Wednesday evening.

Friends of Crewkerne Station had a very enjoyable tour of Templecombe station followed by a pub lunch. The photo shows both groups by the footbridge which sadly has recently been condemned. FOTS are waiting to hear about repair proposals. The last CRP meeting was in Gillingham preceded by a very interesting tour of the Town by a member of the Museum group. It is hoped to get a return trip for a group from both the Gillingham Museum and Station Friends to our town and Museum. Let us know if you would be interested in joining in.

SERUG is the Salisbury to Exeter Rail Users Group and aims to help build a better strategy for the rail service and rail users throughout the Salisbury to Exeter route. Member Nick Hurrell is secretary to the group and Tony Reese is Treasurer. Items discussed have been dualling the line before Tisbury to give more secure timings when things go wrong, rolling stock improvement suggestions and better connectivity to other services like the occasional through route via Penn Mill. SERUG will have an official launch by Christian Roth SWT Managing Director and Nigel Harris, editor of Rail Magazine, in March 2017.

Franchise and Rail news: • The bids are in from Stagecoach (South West

Trains) and First Group (Great Western). News of the winner of the next franchise may be as early as November this year but anytime up to Febru-ary. The new franchise will begin in June 2017.

• December timetable changes give one later train from London to Crewkerne (8.20pm and an 11.40pm to Yeovil Junction. See the SWT web-site for details

• Richard Kempton, our South West Trains liaison has offered the Friends Hi visibility vests with our own logo and will supply more of the required leather gloves. He is also meeting the SSDC planning Officer to talk about a suitable canopy for the well used seat outside the station.