 Nexus has appointed the first ever woman to manage the Shields Ferry service in its proud 700 year history. Carol Timlin has taken on the newly created role of Service Delivery Manager based at the ferry landing in South Shields. The Tyne ferry service has always traditionally been a male dominated work place, but Carol, who has been in her new post for a few weeks, has been made extremely welcome is already well and truly part of the team. Carol will be responsible for looking after the ferry’s customer services, private hire bookings, dealing with disruption, punctuality, reliability and managing resources. Carol, of Gosforth in Newcastle, said: “It’s nice to think that I’m the first ever woman to manage the Shields Ferry. It’s an historic moment for a service that dates back hundreds of years. “We already run an excellent service across the Tyne, but perhaps a woman’s touch around the place certainly won’t go amiss here and there. “I’ve been made to feel very welcome by the lads and right from day one it’s felt like I’ve been here for years. I’m certainly not daunted by the job. My background of working in the transport industry has made the transition a lot easier for me.” Director General of Nexus, Bernard Garner, said: “We’re delighted to have Carol on board. She’s the first woman to manage the day to day operation of the ferry service, so it’s definitely one for her to tell the grandchildren about. “When we were interviewing people for this role we were looking for the very best available candidate, and that was Carol. It was only a few weeks after she’d started that we realised she was the first woman to take charge of the Shields Ferry, which is a much loved and valued local service.” Carol has 11 years’ experience of managing in the railway industry. Prior to joining Nexus, Carol worked for GNER as a station manager. During her time with the company she managed Newcastle Central Station and Durham and Darlington train stations. Background
Ferry services between North Shields and South Shields have operated since at least 1377, according to documents from the time. Between 1862 and 1908 paddle steamers ran a passenger service with 21 stops between Elswick and South Shields. As late as 1929 there were 11 ferry routes across the Tyne between Newburn and the mouth of the river. The opening of the Tyne Tunnel in 1967 led to a huge reduction in ferry traffic. Before it opened 400,000 cars a year still crossed the Tyne by boat. The Tyne Tunnel also led to the closure of the Mid Tyne passenger ferry between Jarrow and Howdon, which featured in the film Get Carter. Nexus, formerly called the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, took over the Shields Ferry operation in 1972.
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