Dronfield Station
The campaign to get the decent rail service that Dronfield deserved has been a massive success story. It is a campaign that Natascha has been enormously proud to be associated with.
As a result of the Dronfield Eyeâs extensive coverage of congestion into Sheffield, the magazine launched a campaign for better train services at Dronfield.
After a public meeting was organised in the summer of 2007, the Dronfield Station Action Group (DSAG) and Friends of Dronfield station (FoDs) was formed. Natascha was asked to be President of FoDs, a position which she still holds with great pride!
The most incredibly professional and organised campaign was launched to coincide with the franchise renewal. Together with the Dronfield Station Action Group, Natascha organised a meeting in Westminster with the then railways Minister, Tom Harris MP, and followed this with questions in Parliament which you can read by clicking here.
Natascha and the groups also organised meetings with the shortlisted franchisees in Westminster to encourage them to include a regular and reliable service for Dronfield station and to make sure that Dronfield was, quite literally, on their maps!
Two years into the campaign, Dronfield Eye received the news that the campaign had succeeded in a manner in which no-one involved could scarcely have imagined. Instead of a skeleton service of 55 trains each week, there were now going to be more than 230!
On 15 December 2008, Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, then Secretary of State for Transport, started his journey from Dronfield station to launch the new Leeds to Nottingham service which stops at Dronfield.
On the first anniversary of the new service, a survey by Friends of Dronfield station has found a staggering 100,000 passengers will have used Dronfield station over the year.
This is, of course, not only due to the improved rail service, but also as a direct result of the fantastic efforts of the Friends of Dronfield station in improving the stationâs environment. The entire station fencing has been repainted, the fabulous (and award-winning) flower beds are going into their second season.
All of this effort has been justly rewarded with a Judgeâs Award given by East Midlands in Bloom. Also, Friends of Dronfield Station recently came third in the national Station Adoption category from ACoRP (the Association of Community Rail Partnerships). This is an incredible achievement for a group that has really only existed for a couple of years.
Congratulations to everyone!
