TAKEAWAY CHIPS IN WITH SUPPORT FOR BRIGG TRAIN CAMPAIGN

All six passenger trains calling at Brigg station ran yesterday (Saturday, June 5) as the fine and sunny weather got townsfolk thinking about excursions to the seaside and other destinations.
The fact that all trains operated yesterday is welcome news as the previous two Saturdays since the post-lockdown re-introduction of passenger units to Cleethorpes and Sheffield had seen some cancellations due to staffing issues with buses substituting at short notice.
The Saturday-only service along the iconic Brigg line is operated by Northern, and more will be running on June 12 for townsfolk fancying a day trip.
Meanwhile, many Brigg businesses are now displaying posters publicising the local train timetable, while new signs have been added at various locations to point the way to Brigg station. There's now one outside the Garden fish & chip shop on Grammar School Road (pictured above).
More shops and licensed premises are expected to receive their laminated timetable posters this week. There should be more than 30 on display in due course, forming part of a fresh publicity and marketing campaign.
As Brigg station was reduced to a Saturday-only timetable in 1993, an entire generation has grown up without the opportunity to use Monday-Friday passenger trains.
Scores of people have also moved to live in Brigg over the past 28 years.
Therefore, we have to wonder how many Brigg residents today are blissfully unaware that the town still has a functioning station.
Efforts are being made to try and get additional trains running on more days of the week so Brigg can again enjoy a 'meaningful' passenger train service.
North Lincolnshire Council is among those backing a new Barton to Gainsborough service via Brigg; the campaigning Brigg Independent Brigg Line Rail Group is calling for the introduction of a Worksop-Brigg-Cleethorpes 'shuttle'.
The IBLRG has also been busy distributing A4-size posters in Kirton - the next station to Brigg on the Sheffield-Cleethorpes route.

PICTURED: One of the laminated timetables and a new sign posted on Grammar School Road, near the chip shop, pointing the way to Brigg railway station (also pictured). The Garden 'chippie' is among businesses which has agreed to display posters supplied by the Independent Brigg Line Rail Group. Those assisting the campaign include small independent businesses through to Tesco, the national retailer.