GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR BRIGG PEOPLE TO HAVE THEIR SAY ABOUT OUR SPARSE PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE

A rail campaigner has drawn Brigg Blog's attention to a national survey being carried out to discover what people think of their local passenger services.
Brigg railway station only sees trains on Saturdays. However, if that wasn't bad enough, boarding a train to visit places like Sheffield, Gainsborough, Retford, Grimsby and Cleethorpes has been hit by industrial action for some time.
Brigg passengers should be pleased that the Northern company, in usual circumstances, runs trains through our town on Saturdays. We are grateful for that.
But for many years some of us who like to use this form of public transport have been calling for the introduction of trains on other days or the week.
Now, by taking part in the survey, we can make our views known.
Follow this link to find out more and take part...
The organisers of the survey want answers to the question: What's the rail service like in your area of the UK?
"We’d like you to help us document the state of train services across the UK," they say. "Share your experiences."
Plans were announced earlier this year to improve Gainsborough's train services.
So why shouldn't Brigg - and neighbouring Kirton Lindsey - get something better?
For more than 100 years, Brigg station was one of some importance on the mainline between Manchester, Sheffield and the east coast, with a meaningful service seven days a week, a booking office selling tickets to ride and waiting rooms, rather than the current 'bus shelters'.
But a gradual decline began in the late 1960s, culminating in demolition of all the buildings and the introduction of the sparse Saturdays-only timetable.
Brigg Blog welcomes new plans to create a local Tourism Partnership. But visitors to Brigg from afar need to get to the town, and a meaningful passenger service would be very helpful in making this possible.
A dozen or more tourists coming to Brigg on a train, rather than individually in their cars, would certainly benefit what the authorities call their carbon footprint.