Tyne Valley CRP (TVCRP) recently hosted G-PaTRA (Green Passenger Transport in Rural Areas) for a visit to Haltwhistle Railway Station.
G-PaTRA are a consortium of partners from across Europe who have been awarded funding to take forward a project on green transport and mobility in rural areas, and to encourage authorities to reduce Co2 from personal transport in remote and island areas. The partners are from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Belgium.
G-PaTRA were meeting in Newcastle, and after visiting the Roman Wall at Housesteads Roman Fort, they took a trip to Haltwhistle to learn about the TVCRP and the role they play in promoting sustainable and healthy travel.
TVCRP have recently undertaken several projects at Haltwhistle, including installing solar powered e-bike rechargers, where the solar panel forms part of the roof box, and restoring two redundant buildings on the platform, converting them into offices and studios for small businesses in the community to rent.
After their tour of the latest innovations on the station platform, the visitors were also shown the Old Booking Office, which is the Education Centre for TVCRP. Members of the team gave presentations on the work they do – Projects Director Julie Gibbon began by setting the scene in Haltwhistle, before Community Rail Officer Fiona Forsythe delved further into how community rail can empower communities to engage with their railways.
John Scott, Hadrians Wall World Heritage Site Management Plan Coordinator, spoke of the problem of encouraging visitors to ditch the car when coming to visit the site, and how this is an area where they can work with TVCRP to encourage visitors to explore more sustainable modes of transport.
TVCRP were pleased to host the delegates and share the positive developments at Haltwhistle with the international group. You can keep up to date with future events and projects from Tyne Valley CRP via the News section on their website.