Train travel has the power to widen horizons and opportunities for all. However, many of the young people that community rail partnerships engage with have rarely or even never been on a train and lack the confidence to travel by public transport. The ‘Feel Good Field Trips’ initiative, launched by Avanti West Coast in March 2022 and delivered by Community Rail Lancashire, set out to change that, demonstrating to teachers and students the breadth of opportunities available that are only a train ride away.

As the key delivery partner in the project, Community Rail Lancashire has taken over 2,000 students aged 4-18 from some of the country’s most disadvantaged schools on 160 train journeys to 20 different venues, providing free, fun, and educational trips along the iconic West Coast Main Line. The trips enabled schools to offer unique cultural experiences, from learning to cook curries in Manchester and recording music in Soho, to taking part in outdoor adventures in the Lake District and learning about dinosaurs in Coventry, all whilst delivering rail safety and confidence messages.

On 96% of the trips, there was at least one student who had experienced travelling on a train for the first time. 93% of schools surveyed gave their overall field trip experience a score of 10/10, and there was no score below 8/10.

The Interchange project was developed in response to the growing number of young people being coerced into dangerous criminal activity such as ‘county lines’ drug trafficking. With the National Crime Agency citing the rail network as being used for 40% of the movement of illegal drugs across the UK, Worcestershire CRP and Platform recognised the importance of providing a toolkit of resources for young people to know how to seek support.

The ‘Which side of the tracks?’ film is the most visited resource on Platform’s website, and train operating companies are starting to use the film for training frontline staff on how to detect and deal with signs of exploitation. The film was shown at Worcester City Council’s Safer Communities Day in June 2023, where over 250 school students took part in discussions around the themes presented in the film.

Developed in response to an increase in trespass and antisocial behaviour at Conwy Station, the art project lead by Conwy Valley & North West Wales Coast CRP engaged local young people with the railway in a creative and interactive way.

With support from the British Transport Police, Transport for Wales and graffiti artist Andy Birch, the CRP worked with pupils from Ysgol Aberconwy to create an art installation in which rail safety messages are expressed through graffiti art. Every pupil contributed to the finished piece, which has transformed this area of Conwy Station into a vibrant and inspiring space and provided the young people with a sense of belonging to their local station and community. Since the completion of the project, there has been a marked decrease in the amount of anti-social behaviour at the station, and several pupils have shown a renewed passion and interest in the arts.