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The 'Barbara Castle' Train

On the 21st September, a Northern train was named after Barbara Castle, the first female Transport Minister. The current Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, joined Barbara’s family and other invited guests at Blackburn station to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the late Blackburn MP. Then it was off to Manchester Oxford Road station to unveil a plaque commemorating Barbara. The plaque will be displayed in the train for all our customers to see.

Barbara Castle was brought up in the north, in Pontefract and Bradford, and worked as a journalist at the Daily Mirror before being elected as MP for Blackburn in 1945 and becoming the youngest female MP. During her time in politics, she became only the fourth woman to reach the Cabinet and the first female Minister for Transport. By the time she stood down in 1979, she had served as an MP for Blackburn for 34 years. She became an MEP in the North West for ten years after that and was made Baroness Castle of Blackburn in 1990. She died on 3rd May 2002.

She was instrumental in the 1968 Transport Act which:
- gave the railways a more secure future and prevented some of Dr Beeching’s closure plans
- saved hundreds of miles of canals and gave them a new role in the leisure industry
- saved countless lives through the requirement to fit seat belts, setting up a register for driving instructors, bringing in the 70mph speed limit and creating accident analysis and road safety units across the country. This followed on from her earlier laws introducing the breathalyser to prevent drink-driving.
- she also created new, publicly accountable transport authorities to provide integrated public transport networks. Forty years on, the six Passenger Transport Executives and Authorities are investing more than a billion pounds a year in improving public transport.

Ruth Kelly paid tribute to the only other woman to lead the Department for Transport, saying Barbara Castle was a very hard act to follow and her achievements were still making an impact today.

Heidi Mottram, Managing Director of Northern Rail, said ‘We are delighted and honoured to name one of our trains 'Barbara Castle' because she was a passionate advocate for rail and for the north of England. The train will carry tens of thousands of people across the north of England in the years to come.’

To watch a video of the event click here

Corinne Bailey Rae backed search for song writing talent

Northern Rail and its NorthernTrax initiative teamed up with West Yorkshire Police to launch a song-writing competition - '3 Minute Wonders'. The winner is to be announced in the near future.

It encouraged all people under 19 to write a three minute song about the fight against drugs.

It was backed by star singer Corinne Bailey Rae - who comes from Leeds. She hoped the competition will raise awareness amongst teenagers about the negative effects of drug-taking.

She said: "Helping raise awareness amongst teenagers about the danger of drugs is vital, and combining this with the chance to showcase local song-writing talent is a great idea.

The impact of drugs in our local communities cannot be underestimated, so I'm happy to be supporting West Yorkshire Police's '3 minute wonders'. All you budding song-writers have got until February 2008 to get your entries in - you just never know who might be listening."

New model railway for safety talks at NRM

Northern has created a six foot square model railway depicting a variety of railway crime issues to be used at the National Railway Museum (NRM) as part of the Trackwise programme.

The Trackwise programme was established by Northern in partnership with the British Transport Police and NRM when it became obvious that many children who commit railway crime had never travelled by train and thought that railway crime was victimless in their eyes.

Schools in crime hotspot areas on our network are highlighted and we provide them with free travel to York where pupils visit the NRM. On arrival they are given a rail safety talk and followed by a discussion about their experience of rail travel and the passengers and staff they meet. They are then provided with lunch and a guided tour of the world’s biggest railway museum

Northern supports Morecambe Bay festival of digital art and culture (10/2007)

As part of Northern's support for participative arts initiatives in the community, we are one of the sponsors of VELOCITY, a new festival of digital art and culture.

The festival is taking place all along the coastal rail route around Morecambe Bay from Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness in October and early November 2007.

As part of the festival there are variety of arts-based activities taking place on board trains and at stations on the route. For example someone will be working with passengers to create web-based maps of personal journeys in the style of a rail network map. Train passengers can also watch or take part in a new piece of dance or listen to and play new music in a series of on-train and on-station platform workshops and performances.

VELOCITY aims to be a fun experience that explores the role of technology in our lives allowing people to participate as well as to be inspired.

To find out more about VELOCITY download the brochure here

School mosaic for West Yorkshire railway station (09/2007)

A mosaic created by pupils from Calder High School now has pride of place at Mytholmroyd railway station in West Yorkshire.

The unveiling of the mosaic was carried out by Chris Leech, Youth and Community Liaison Manager of Northern Rail, and organised by the Mytholmroyd Station Partnership, as part of the wider Calderdale Safer Communities Partnership.

Art pupils from Calder High School
with Chris Leech

Northern sponsored the production of the mosaic as part of its NorthernArt community and anti-graffiti initiative that encourages young people to have a positive view of themselves and their artwork.

The mosaic depicts the scenery around Mytholmroyd and the Upper Calder Valley including Stoodley Pike in the style of Friendensreich Hundertwasser, a committed environmentalist.

The new mosaic unveiled

It was produced by Year 8 students at Calder High School, Mytholmroyd and project managed by trainee teacher Sharon Hiley under the supervision of Andrew Greenwood, Head of Art.

The production of the mosaic linked well with Northern’s other diversionary initiatives for young people as it was made during after-hours classes and a special one week workshop during the summer holidays.

The framing and installation of the mosaic was sponsored by Calderdale Safer Communities and Pennine Signs of Mytholmroyd. The materials were donated by Waxmans Ceramics.

Northern and British Transport Police work with community in Barton-on Humber

Northern and BTP have sponsored two nights of entertainment at the Knotted Note Café in Barton upon Humber. Staff from the two organisations worked alongside a professional drugs and alcohol worker at an event on the evening before a Valentines Day disco which included a quiz, presentations and discussions to address the issues of drugs, alcohol and antisocial behaviour in a laid back relaxed environment. This provided an opportunity for young people in the area to get involved and have their say on issues that really affect them in addition to having the opportunity to win prizes such as a DVD player and vouchers.

Education officers from both Northern and British Transport Police worked in schools and youth clubs within the Barton area and also further a field in New Holland and Goxhill promoting the events and raising awareness surrounding, anti social behaviour, drugs, alcohol and issues on railway safety.

Chris Leech, Youth and Community Liaison Manager for Northern said: “The initiatives are part of a unified approach to tackling youth crime in the local community and highlighting to young people that there are better ways for them to spend their time . Barton is an isolated, rural town where the railway station and its surrounding vicinity has been a problem area where adults and young people have been gathering, consuming alcohol and becoming involved in anti-social behaviour."

The Knotted Note café is situated approximately 5 minutes from Barton Railway station and offers a place for young people, mainly between the ages of 13-19, to hang out in the evenings. Barton Upon Humber railway station has been adopted by the Knotted Note under the Northern's Station Adoption Scheme which brings together the community and helps the local people aware of the railway station and that the community is concerned for its upkeep.

NorthernArt


Heidi Mottram unveils the NorthernArt Big Picture	School pupils who helped with the Big Picture	School pupils with Ashley Jackson, the famous Yorkshire painter

NorthernArt is a new community initiative from Northern Rail that aims to divert young people from anti-social behaviour such as graffiti into art-based activities that will benefit themselves and their local community.

NorthernArt encourages young people to send their 2D artwork to www.northernartzone.net where it will be showcased in an online gallery for all to see.

Northern Rail is pioneering the use of the artwork on posters, corporate literature and eventually the exterior of trains.

Other organisations and companies will also have the opportunity to access the artwork for use on publicity materials as long as they credit the artist with their work.

As part of the NorthernArt initiative, Northern Rail unveiled a giant work of art – The NorthernArt Big Picture at the National Railway Museum in York.

The Big Picture measures 4.5 by 6.6 metres and is made up of 345 individual pieces of artwork, which when viewed from afar, form one large image depicting scenes from across Northern Rail’s network.

The artwork was produced by students at primary and secondary schools in the North of England and some of them were on hand at the unveiling. The Big Picture will form part of a growing display in the Great Hall at the National Railway Museum, York for a period of 12 months and will potentially be seen by some 750,000 visitors.

Unveiling the Big Picture, Heidi Mottram, Managing Director, Northern Rail said: “NorthernArt is a powerful addition to our ongoing programme of work within schools and local communities to discourage young people from crime and anti-social behaviour on the railways. Through NorthernArt we aim to encourage a feeling of self worth in young people by showcasing their artwork and giving them the recognition they deserve.”